LIBRARY 

OF  THE  ^    . 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


ARID  AGRICULTURE 

A  Hand-Book  for  the  Western  Farmer 
and  Stockman 

BY 

B.  C.  BUFFUM,  M.  S. 

Manager  of  the  Wyoming  Plant   and   Seed    Breeding  Company,  Worland. 

Former  Professor  of  Agriculture  in  the  University  of  Wyoming  and 

the  Colorado  Agricultural  College,  and  Director  of  the 

Wyoming  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


Oh,  dear  me,  no! 

It  wouldn't  be  such  very  hard  work  to  think, 
If  we  did  not  have  to  talk  or  weep  or  use  up  bottles  of 

ink, 

Or  put  to  practice  in  the  field 
The  thin  as  our  thinkers  have  revealed. 


Published  by  the  Author 
1909 


Copyrighted  by  the  Author. 
1909. 


This  book  is  dedicated  to  my  father,  who  brought  me  to  the 
Mountain  Region  at  a  tender  age — who  was  father  and 
mother  to  his  boys,  cook,  discoverer,  philosopher — 
trho  developed  an  irrigated  stock  ranch  from  the 
nut  ire  wild — who  fought  and  conquered  all  the 
hardships  of  the  pioneer — who,  though  an  in- 
valid., gave  no  thought  for  himself t  but  put 
forth  untold  effort  to  supply  me  with 
every  educational  advantage  the 
West  afforded  at  the  time. 
Such  men   the  country 
trill  never  cease 
to   honor. 


192639 


Foreword. 

The  purpose  of  this  volume  is  to  furnish 
plain  fact<  in  a  plain  way  about  the  practice  of 
agriculture  in  the  AIUI)  RKGIOX.  Whatever 
its  shortcomings,  the  reading  matter  here  pre- 
sented is  new  and  original.  It  has  been  carved 
out  of  a  quarter  century  of  experience,  observa- 
tion and  study  in  the  dry  part?  of  the  West.  Xo 
attempt  has  been  made  to  compile  scientific  data 
or  write  a  cyclopaedia.  We  have  tried  to  present 
enough  of  the  practice  and  underlying  principles 
of  arid  farming  to  enable  any  intelligent  man  to 
"make  good"1  on  a  Western  farm. 

We  feel  that  this  book  will,  in  a  measure, 
meet  a  "crying  need  of  the  hour."  The  West  is 
now  rapidly  settling  up  with  new  farmers  and 
new  stockmen  whose  measure  of  success  is  pro- 
])orti<  ual  to  the  quick  and  reliable  information 
they  are  able  to  obtain.  Books  on  agriculture 
written  from  the  view  point  of  the  farmer  or  sci- 
entist in  the  humid  Ka*t.  generally  are  good 
bonks,  but  they  do  not  supply  the  arid  farmer 
.with  the  most  important  facts.  In  the  present 
book  we  try  to  give  some  idea  of  soil  tillage  and 
crop  production  in  the  Arid  Region.  Our  admi- 
ration is  great  for  the  men  who  are  unselfishly 
helping  to  solve  We-'ern  farm  and  ranch  prob- 
lems, and  we  invite  kindlv  criticism  of  the  fol- 


6  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

lowing  pages,  that  we  may  make  them,  better  and 
more  useful. 

We  gratefully  acknowledge  personal  encour- 
agement and  help  from  many  friends.  Mr.  TL 
T.  Nowell  has  supplied  much  of  the  data  for 
chapters  T  and  S,  in  Part  III.  Dr.  G.  H.  Glover 
has  given  information  in  the  chapters  on  Animal 
Diseases,  Farm  Surgery  and  Poisonous  Plants. 
Information,  suggestions  or  help  have  been  fur- 
nished by  Frank  Beach,  F.  W.  Wherren,  J.  T. 
Burns,  W.  Paddock,  C.  P.  Gillette,  W.  P.  Head- 
den,  F.  C.  Alford,  L.  G.  Carpenter  and  others. 

Finally,  this  book  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble but  for  the  personal  friendship  of  Dr.  Y.  T. 
Cooke.  His  deep  and  accurate  knowledge  of 
Dry  Farming  and  the  West  and  his  unlimited 
faith,  untiring  energy  and  unquestioned  sincer- 
ity, have  supplied  the  right  ear-mark  of  the  dry 
farming  discussions. 

We  are  already  assured  of  a  kindly  reception 
to  our  Arid  Agriculture. 

B.  C.  BUFFUM. 

Worland,  Wyo.,  Jan.  15,  1909. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Part   I.     Introduction. 

CHAPTER    1.     The  Arid  Region 11 

Part   II.     Dry   Farming. 

CHAPTER    2.     Dry  Farming 33 

CHAPTER   3.     Plowing 42 

CHAPTER    4.     Conservation  of  Moisture 53 

CHAPTER    5.     Crop  Management   G4 

Part  III.     Irrigation. 

CHAPTER    6.     Irrigation  Farming 79 

CHAPTER    7.     Methods  of  Irrigation 93 

CHAPTER    8.     Irrigation  Appliances   108 

Part   IV.     Crops  and  Crop  Culture. 

CHAPTER    9.     Alfalfa    121 

(  IIAPTER  10.     Hay  and  Forage  Crops 147 

CHAPTER  11.     Grains 172 

CHAPTER  12.     Potato  Culture 188 

CHAPTER  13.     The  Sugar  Beet  and  Its  Culture.  201 

CHAPTER  14.     Miscellaneous  Crops  . . .  . 221 

CHAPTER  15.     Plant  Breeding 228 

Part  V.     Crop   Destroyers. 

CHAPTER  16.     Weeds 245 

CHAPTER  17.     Insect  Enemies  259 

CH AFTER  18.     Plant  Diseases .  274 

CHAPTER  19.     Rodents  and  Birds 284 

Part  VI.     Live  Stock. 

CHAPTER  20.     The  Ranging  of  Live  Stock 299 

CHAPTER  21.     Western  Animal  Feeding 311 

CHAPTER  22.     Stock  Breeding  Suggestions 336 

CHAPTER  23.     Common  Diseases  of  Live  Stock.  343 

CHAPTER  24.     Poison  Plants  of  the  West 358 

CHAPTER  25.     Common  Farm  Surgery 364 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Part  VII.     Home  Building. 

CHAPTER  26.     Hints  on  Selecting  a  Western 

Farm 377 

CHAPTER  27.     Starting  a  Western  Farm  Home.  389 

CHAPTER  28.     The  Home  Garden 403 

CHAPTER  29.     Trees  41 1 

CHAPTER  30.     Wind  Breaks 424 


Part  I. 
Introduction. 


THE  ARID  WEST. 

Our  fathers  wrought  to  till  the  land 

By  clearing  off  the  forest  grand. 

The  land  was  poor, — they  planted  shad 

With  every  seed  to  make  corn  glad, 

Taking  their  cue  of  what  to  do 

From  savage  men  they  overthrew. 

And  never  could  they  understand 

That  the  Arid  West  is  the  promised  land. 


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CHAPTER  I. 


THE  ARID  REGION. 

It  has  again  taken  forty  years  of  wandering1  in  the 
wilderness  before  entering  into  the  fuller  possession  of 
our  promised  land. 

ABID  Arid  agriculture  is  the  agriculture  of  the 

AGRICULTURE  arid  region.  An  arid  country  is  one  in  which 
there  is  a  small  amount  of  rainfall.  The  word 
rainfall  as  here  used  means  the  total  precipita- 
tion during  the  year,  including  rain,  snow,  sleet, 
and  hail.  A  "small  amount  of  rainfall"  means 
an  amount  which  used  to  be  considered  insuffi- 
cient for  the  raising  of  field  crops  without  the 
artificial  application  of  water.  The  line  between 
possible  farming  by  natural  rainfall  and  impos- 
sible farming  with  natural  moisture  was  for- 
merly somewhat  definitely  fixed.  More  than 
twenty-five  inches  of  precipitation  in  a  year  was 
considered  sufficient  for  the  production  of  gen- 
eral crops.  In  places  where  between  twenty-five 
inches  of  rain  and  fifteen  inches  occurs  farming 
was  considered  uncertain,  so  regions  receiving 
this  amount  of  moisture  were  classed  as  sub- 
humid,  or  semi-arid. 

PROGRESS  In  parts  of  the  country  where  the  total  rain- 

STEP  BY  fau  js  ]ess  than  fifteen  inches  there  is  compara- 

tively little  natural  vegetation.    Early  statesmen 
named  the  whole  region  the  "Great  American 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Desert."  Stockmen  early  learned  the  value  of 
the  West  for  grazing  great  flocks  and  herds. 
With  the  accumulation  of  wealth  from  the  public 
domain  they  generously  dropped  the  word  ''des- 
ert/' and  called  it  the  "Short  grass  country." 
The  storage  of  mountain  snows  supplies  peren- 
nial streams  with  water  which  man  puts  into 
use  for  irrigation.  A  rather  persistent  belief 
prevailed  for  some  years  that  farm  crops  could 
not  be  raised  without  irrigation.  This  idea, 
along  with  the  dry  climate  and  characteristic, 
unleached  virgin  soils  placed  the  country  on  the 
map  as  the  arid  region.  Evolution  always  leads 
towards  greater  perfection.  Aleii  of  broad  vision 
realize  that  what  was  impossible  yesterday  be- 
comes the  common  possession  of  tomorrow. 
These  so-called  visionaries  believed  that  there 
were  great  sections  of  this  arid  region  in  which 
the  soils  could  and  would  be  made  to  produce 
more  food  and  raiment  for  mankind  by  artificial 
means  and  the  application  of  scientific  princi- 
ples. In  the  semi-arid  region  where  first  at- 
tempts at  farming  generally  failed,  the  pointing 
of  the  way  by  accumulation  of  experience  and 
the  adoption  of  better  methods,  has  resulted  in 
the  establishment  of  thousands  of  new  self-sup- 
porting homes.  In  the  far  West,  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  here  and  there  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  farm  crops  have  been  produced  for 
more  than  forty  years,  in  some  places  with  an 
annual  rainfall  as  small  as  eight  inches. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


13 


COMING  OP 

MORE 
INTENSIVE 
DEVELOP- 
MENT 


This  comparatively  new  art  of  agriculture  is 
that  of  dry  farming.  A  few  practical  scientists 
and  farmers  have  been  unselfishly  studying  and 
demonstrating  the  possibilities  of  extending  our 
productive  area  by  the  more  intelligent  use  of 
natural  resources.  Because  some  unscrupulous 
"get-rieli-quick"  land  agents  have  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  movement  and  exaggerated  its  possi- 
bilities is  no  reason  for  condemnation.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  feelings  of  those  who  have  either 
experienced  or  known  of  the  first  disasters  which 
r< --ulted  from  settlement,  and  attempts  to  follow 
out  the  fariii  methods  of  our  fathers  (which  had 
been  practiced  for  centuries  in  humid  regions), 
must  be  respected.  Xor  must  we  judge  harshly 
the  honest  skepticism,  contempt,  or  resulting  de- 
spair of  Western  stockmen  who  have  spent  the 
best  portion  of  their  lives  in  building  up  re- 
munerative stock-grazing  industries  based  upon 
the  free  use  of  the  range,  and  whose  business  is 
being  destroyed  by  the  encroachment  of  the  small 
irrigation  farmer  and  the  dry  farmer.  It  is  only 
right  that  these  men  should  be  well  paid  for  giv- 
ing up  their  holdings  to  new  settlement.  They 
have  pioneered  and  braved  early  hardships,  such 
that  only  the  most  hardy  could  endure.  They 
have  builded  homes;  they  have  wrested  suste- 
nance from  the  breast  of  nature  and  have  come 
to  love  the  occupation  which  they  have  made  suc- 
cessful only  through  a  lifetime  of  heart-interests 
and  undivided  thought.  With  no  confidence  in 


14  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

the  success  of  the  new  dry  farm  movement,  the 
old  residents  simply  see  the  wrecking  of  their 
own  industry  to  no  permanent  good.  They  re- 
luctantly admit  successes  in  farming  which  they 
did  not  at  first  believe  possible,  but  lay  the  suc- 
cess to  temporary  favorable  seasons.  "The  hand- 
writing is  on  the  wall."  The  application  of 
new  knowledge,  in  soil  culture,  in  adapting  of 
useful  drouth  resistant  plants,  in  machinery  and 
power,  and  in  an  hundred  significant  ways 
means  that  there  will  be  no  turning  backward. 
The  development  may  come  more  slowly  than 
the  more  enthusiastic  advocates  predict ;  but 
come  it  must,  and  the  gain  will  be  of  enormous 
import  to  the  commonwealths  situated  in  the 
great  arid  region — "the  best  half  of  the  United 
States." 


EFFECT   OF 

SOLVING 

WESTERN 

PROBLEMS 


Agriculture  in  the  West  is  new.  Forty  years 
is  a  short  time  in  which  to  develop  a  new  ag^icul- 
tural  country.  It  is  true  that  our  earliest  great 
civilizations  were  all  built  up  in  arid  regions,  but 
for  the  past  twenty  centuries  or  more  (of  dark 
ages)  man  has  taken  haphazard  chances  with 
humid  farming.  Although  the  time  has  been 
so  short,  already  some  new  principles  are  being 
worked  out  which  will  be  found  useful  to  farmer 
and  stockman  wherever  located.  The  practice 
of  irrigation  is  spreading  to  more  humid  sections 
of  the  country.  The  principles  of  scientific  soil 
culture,  the  conservation  and  use  of  moisture, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  15 

the  relation  of  the  growing  season  and  the  crop, 
the  effect  of  soil  aeration,  the  making  available 
of  plant  food,  the  acclimatization  and  adaptation 
of  plants,  the  causes  of  variations,  the  value  of 
heredity  and  pedigree  in  plants,  as  well  as  in 
animals,  and  a  host  of  other  farm  problems,  are 
being  elucidated  and  solved  through  necessity  in 
the  building  up  of  arid  agriculture.  Our  les- 
sons, in  so  far  as  they  teach  how  and  why,  are 
useful  to  all. 

MUST  To  meet  with  greatest  success  the  Eastern 

UNLEARN  farmer  who  comes  West  must  unlearn  what  he 
LEARN  THE  knows  about  farming.  The  Western  farmer 
NEW  must  learn  farming  anew.  The  new  settler 

would  make  fewer  mistakes  if  he  could  leave 
behind,  with  the  dust  of  the  farm  which  he 
shakes  from  his  feet,  the  memories  of  his  old 
farm  practices.  Many  of  the  first  farmers  in 
the  West,  and  especially  those  who  attempt  to 
dry  farm,  do  not  succeed.  It  takes  time  to  learn 
a  new  business  or  the  conditions  of  a  new  coun- 
try. It  took  fifteen  years  for  the  farmers  of 
Idaho,  Washington  and  Oregon  to  learn  how  to 
produce  wheat  with  their  present  success.  It 
took  as  long  for  the  farmers  of  Colorado  to  learn 
potato  culture.  As  many  more  years  were  con- 
sumed in  working  out  high  altitude  agriculture 
and  the  use  of  alfalfa  and  field  peas  in  these  loca- 
tions. Even  now,  after  forty  years  of  successful 
dry  farming  in  parts  of  the  West,  there  are  those 


16 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


GREAT 

DIFFERENCE 

BETWEEN 

HUMID   AND 

ARID 

CONDITIONS 


in  other  places  who  have  not  seen  the  work  dem- 
onstrated, that  look  upon  any  claims  for  success 
as  false.  Heretofore  every  man  has  had  to  go 
through  the  period  of  learning  for  himself.  Now 
he  may  take  advantage  of  the  pioneer's  experi- 
ence and  is  able  to  find  out  the  new  method  in  a 
much  shorter  time.  The  important  point  is  that 
to  succeed  he  must  learn  and  adopt  new  methods. 
Successful  irrigation  or  successful  dry  farming 
require  method,  require  system,  require  a  shak- 
ing off  of  old  conceptions  and  old  tradi- 
tions and  the  obtaining  of  a  new  knowledge 
of  the  relationships  of  water,  soil,  climate,  crop, 
and  market.  Dame  Nature  of  the  West  holds 
out  most  alluring  charms,  and  those  who  woo 
and  win  her  smile  reap  a  reward  beyond  com- 
pare. The  one  thing  most  needed  is  correct  and 
accurate  information.  A  few  pioneers  and  sci- 
entists have  given  years  of  study  to  these  partic- 
ular problems  and  have  worked  out  methods 
which  secure  the  best  results.  It  is  the  attempt 
of  the  writer  of  this  book  to  present  in  brief  form 
the  more  important  data  of  arid  farming. 

The  West  is  a  strange  land,  even  to  her  own 
people.  Every  new  achievement  in  fanning 
brings  as  sincere  expressions  of  surprise  and 
wonder  to  our  own  citizens  as  they  do  to  the 
"stranger  within  our  gates."  The  average  tra- 
dition and  hereditary  memory  is  that  of  humid 
climates.  The  difference  between  the  mountain 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  17 

region  of  arid  America  and  the  more  humid  East 
is  so  great  that  it  can  neither  be  impressed  upon 
the  mind  nor  fully  appreciated  in  a  single  gen- 
eration. We  have  now  learned  some  of  the  more 
important  changes  brought  about  by  aridity. 
The  small  rainfall  results  in  its  particular  kind 
'of  climate  and  soil.  These  in  turn  not  only 
change  the  entire  aspect  of  landscape  and  dis- 
tance, but  also  profoundly  influence  the  struct- 
ural life  and  health  of  animals  and  plants  and 
place  new  conditions  into  human  ethics  and  the 
social  fabric.  The  use  of  open  ranges  for  com- 
mon grazing  ground  made  men  cognizant  of  each 
other's  rights — the  use  of  limited  water-supply 
for  irrigation,  at  least  in  all  larger  systems,  en- 
forces co-operation.  Lofty  mountains,  grand 
distances,  and  sparce  settlement  stimulate  more 
individual  movement.  Stockmen  go  to  market 
with  their  product.  The  people  travel.  They 
get  their  own  kind  of  education  from  more  leis- 
ure, more  moving  from  place  to  place,  and  more 
intimate  acquaintance  with  nature  and  their  fel- 
lows. They  find  greater  independence  of  thought 
and  action  necessary  because,  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  they  must  overcome  unusual  obstacles 
and  old  forms,  and  old  laws  are  in  many  in- 
stances not  applicable  to  the  change  of  condi- 
tions. The  institutions  of  the  West  are  being- 
founded  upon  new  principles. 

Those  who   attempt   to  follow   agricultural 
pursuits  find  crop  failure  less  common,  and  with 


18  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

new  knowledge  the  business  of  farming  is  more 
dependable.  These  things  point  out  a  few  of 
the  more  important  differences  between  the  hu- 
mid and  the  arid  region.  With  experience, 
ranchmen  and  farmers  are  learning  new  and  im- 
portant facts  which  help  them  to  gain  success. 
The  lands  are  being  rapidly  settled,  and  in  a  few 
years  none  will  be  left  idle  which  can  be  used  for 
crop  production.  ~New  dry  farmers  should  be 
made  to  understand  the  necessity  of  following 
right  methods  in  order  to  avoid  failure  or  delay 
in  securing  that  independence  which  they  seek. 

SYSTEMS  OP  Every  farm  system  known  is  being  practiced 

in  the  West.  The  earliest  agricultural  occupa- 
tion was  the  mere  grazing  of  live  stock  on  the 
open  range.  This  was  rapidly  followed  by  the 
combined  use  of  ranch  and  range.  With  this 
raising  of  live  stock  at  home  instead  of  shipping 
in  feeders,  came  rapid  development  in  the  quali- 
ty of  stock  through  giving  them  better  care,  the 
raising  of  winter  feed,  and  greater  attention  to 
breeding.  With  the  development  of  irrigation 
there  came  into  existence  some  pure  farming 
where  the  field  crops  produced  were  the  entire 
dependence  of  the  grower.  At  the  present  time 
we  have  a  large  class  of  dry  farmers  who  are 
practicing  both  pure  farming  and  the  combined 
raising  of  stock  and  crops.  Truck  gardening 
and  fruit  growing  are  also  practiced.  We  have 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  19 

named  the  combination  of  irrigation  and  dry 
farming  "supplemental  farming." 

FARMING  In  the  best  watered  states  of  the  arid  region 

AREAS  ft  -g  estimated  that  from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  of 

the  total  area  may  ultimately  be  reclaimed  by  ir- 
rigation. Approximately  twenty  per  cent,  oi 
the  area  is  covered  with  mountains  and  forests. 
According  to  our  present  knowledge,  between 
twenty  per  cent,  and  thirty  per  cent,  may  be  cul- 
tivated by  so-called  dry  farm  methods,  leaving 
some  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  total  area  as  grazing, 
mineral,  and  waste  land.  There  are  consider, 
able  areas  still  remaining  which  are  subject  to 
entry  under  the  land  laws  of  the  United  States. 
In  Wyoming  alone  there  are  some  forty-eight 
million  acres  open  to  entry,  or  over  seventy-five 
per  cent  of  the  total  area.  It  should  be  pointed 
out,  however,  that  practically  all  the  land  which 
is  easy  to  reclaim  by  irrigation  is  now  in  private 
control.  There  are  still  large  opportunities  to 
develop  reservoirs  and  reclaim  new  lands,  and 
considerable  areas  are  yet  to  come  into  private 
ownership,  both  for  irrigation  farming  and 
range  uses.  The  agricultural  resources  of  the 
West  are  only  beginning  to  be  developed.  The 
surface  has  hardly  been  scratched,  but  such  a  bej 
ginning  has  already  been  made  that  the  wonder 
and  astonishment  of  the  Avorld  has  been  attracted 
by  the  agricultural  displays  made  at  state  fairs 
and  the  great  international  expositions. 


20  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

BOOM  FOB  The   West   is   filled   with   paradoxes.     The 

MORE  PEOPLE  wor(j  aric|  jg  sometimes  used  to  mean  poor,  or  un- 
productive. However,  there  are  no  lands  in  the 
world  more  productive  than  our  best  arid  lands, 
unless  we  except  the  soils  forming  the  deltas  of 
some  great  rivers.  The  most  thickly  populated 
delta  lands  support  over  five  hundred  persons 
per  square  mile,  or  about  five-sixths  of  a  person 
for  each  acre. 

Some  Western  lands  have  been  made  to  sup- 
port four  cows  per  acre.  If  they  were  ordinarily 
good  cows  and  gave  twenty  pounds  of  milk  per 
day  apiece,  five-sixths  of  a  person  could  not  drink 
the  milk.  If  the  forty  quarts  of  milk  per  day 
from  the  four  cows  were  sold  for  five  cents  a 
quart,  the  income  of  two  dollars  ought  to  give 
entire  support  to  a  whole  man.  With  such  pos- 
sibilities the  comparatively  small  irrigated  por- 
tion of  arid  America  would  support  a  population 
equal  to  one-half  the  total  present  population  oi 
the  United  States.  The  arid  region  can  also 
supply  two-hundred-acre  dry  farms  to  a  half 
million  farmers  and  give  each  one  as  much  more 
land  for  pasturage  or  range.  With  the  average 
sized  farm  family  this  makes  room  for  two  mill- 
ions more  population  in  this  land  of  promise. 
Time  and  the  future  will  make  the  promise  good. 

CLIMATE  OP  This  arid  region  we  arc  writing  about  has 

THE  DBY  from  one-sixth  to  one-half  the  amount  of  rain 

and   snow  which  comes   in  other  parts   of  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  21 

I  11  i ted  States.  The  air  is  dry?  rarified,  cool, 
free  from  poisonous  gases  and  germs,  invigorat- 
ing and  generally  moving.  There  are  few  cloudy 
days.  The  sun  shines  over  sixty  per  cent,  of  his 
rime  on  the  people.  In  Xew  York  state,  for 
comparison,  the  glorious  sun  shows  his  face  only 
sixteen  per  cent,  of  his  time,  and  the  quality  of 
the  shine  is  stingy  at  that  Disease  germs  are 
things  of  darkness  and  dampness.  Dry  sun- 
shine is  the  most  deadly  thing  to  disease  germs 
known  in  the  world. 

Thermometers  for  recording  temperatures  in 
the  arid  country  are  always  at  work.  The  tem- 
perature is  not  stationary,  but  changes  more  each 
twenty-four  hours  than  it  does  anywhere  else. 
Dry  air  neither  burns  nor  scalds,  and  it  does  not 
carry  sultry  heat  into  shady  places  nor  into  the 
night.  The  nii>lits  arc  cool  even  where  the  cli- 
mate is  subtropical.  There  is  no  sunstroke  or 
prostration  with  heat.  Farm  animals  are  com- 
paratively free  from  Disease.  Such  climate  car- 
ries with  it  health,  comfort  and  happiness  to  the 
people.  If  a  tubercular  patient  does  not  get 
well  in  this  climate,  there  is  some  reason  that 
he  does  not  other  than  the  presence  of  the  diWase 
germ. 

The  arid  region  covers  a  large  section  of  the 
earth's  surface.  The  dry  climate  varies  from 
the  subtropical  in  the  South  and  \Ve-t  to  the 
frigid  of  the  mountain  top.  The  tops  of  the 
higher  mountains  should  not  be  classed  as  arid. 


22  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

however,  for  they  reach  so  high  in  the  atmos- 
phere that  they  catch  as  much  precipitation  in  a 
year  as  falls  in  humid  sections. 

Over  much  of  the  region,  especially  on  the 
higher  plateaus  and  over  portions  of  the  Pacific 
Slope,  there  is  much  wind ;  while  other  portions 
are  comparatively  free  from  strong  winds.  The 
wind  seldom  blows  hard  enough  to  be  destructive, 
and  tornadoes  are  unknown  throughout  the 
mountain  regions.  Hail  and  thunder  storms  are 
common  over  a  goodly  portion  of  the  western 
prairies  and  plateaus,  and  in  some  sections  the 
farmer  should  consider  the  possibility  of  hail 
when  he  selects  his  principal  crops,  planting 
those  which  will  be  the  least  injured.  The  cli- 
mate is  marked  by  great  freedom  from  those 
storms  which  prove  destructive  to  life  and  prop- 
erty in  other  countries. 

THE  The  length  of  season  free  from  frost  varies 

from  no  frost  during  the  year  to  places  with 
frost  every  month.  Profitable  farming  may  be 
done  where  light  frosts  may  occur  at  any  time 
during  the  growing  months.  In  middle  latitudes 
where  the  altitude  reaches  7,000  feet  to  8,000 
feet  the  light  frosts  of  summer  are  practically 
harmless  to  short  season  crops.  The  grains  and 
grasses,  alfalfa  and  potatoes,  beets  and  turnips, 
Canadian  field  peas  and  other  crops  will  stand 
several  degrees  of  frost  in  the  spring.  Young 
seedling  plants  are  not  injured  by  an  amount  of 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  23 

freezing  which  totally  destroys  the  same  plants 
at  the  end  of  the  season.  Technically  the  grow- 
ing season  runs  through  almost  the  entire  year, 
even  where  the  winter  is  severe.  Winter  grains 
and  the  native  grasses  undoubtedly  extend  their 
root  systems  after  the  crops  are  frozen  dormant 
and  the  tops  make  considerable  growth  during 
warm  days,  even  if  the  nights  are  very  cold.  It 
is  important  to  plant  crops  early  enough  so  those 
subject  to  frost  injury  w^ill  mature  before  early 
frosts  come.  Spring  grains  and  tender  vegeta- 
bles are  in  this  class.  How  advantage  may  be 
taken  of  the  growing  season  depends  upon  the 
character  of  crop  grown  and  the  particular  cli- 
matic conditions  of  each  region. 

RAINFALL  OP  The  total  precipitation  is  less  than  fifteen 
inches  per  year.  The  character  of  the  precipita- 
tion and  the  time  it  comes  varies  greatly.  In 
the  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the 
larger  part  of  the  moisture  falls  in  the  winter 
months  and  the  summers  are  dry.  East  of  the 
Rockies  as  much  as  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the 
total  moisture  falls  in  the  spring  months  W7hen  it 
is  most  useful  for  the  germinating  seed  and  the 
early  growth  of  plants.  Where  irrigation  is  de- 
pended upon  it  is  important  to  store  a  part  of 
the  flood  waters  and  the  run-off  from  early  melt- 
ing of  mountain  snows  into  reservoirs  for  the 
supply  of  late  water  when  the  streams  are  low. 
The  dry  farmer,  where  winter  rains  prevail, 


24  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

stores  the  moisture  in  his  cultivated  ground  and 
the  fallow  lands  of  other  regions  act  as  storage 
until  there  is  sufficient  for  the  maturing  of  crops. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


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ARID    AGRICULTURE.  27 

THE  The  figures  given  in  our  rainfall  table  have 

BAXKFAXA  been  carefully  selected  from  Bulletin  aQ"  of 
the  IT.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  The 
places  at  which  observations  have  been  taken  are 
representative  of  the  different  sections  of  the 
arid  region.  The  season  when  the  most  moist- 
ure comes  has  much  effect  on  the  agriculture,  es- 
pecially if  dry  farming  is  practiced.  As  the 
total  amount  is  given  for  each  season  of  the  year, 
any  one  can  see  at  a  glance  when  the  most  moist- 
ure falls.  On  the  western  slope  and  in  the 
Great  Basin  the  principal  precipitation  occurs  in 
the  winter  months.  In  northern  Montana  it  is 
quite  evenly  distributed  through  the  year.  In 
Colorado,  it  varies,  being  generally  heavier  in 
the  spring  months.  Attention  is  called  to  the 
fact  that  on  the  Divide  South  of  Denver,  consid- 
erable precipitation  comes  in  late  summer  and 
the  farmers  produce  good  potato  crops  which  re- 
quire late  moisture,  without  practicing  special 
dry  farming  methods.  The  table  is  especially 
interesting  to  the  dry  farmer  and  no  attempt  has 
been  made  to  show  the  relation  of  this  rainfall  to 
irrigation  further  than  its  general  effect  on  crops 
in  addition  to  the  use  of  running  water  and  that 
from  storage  reservoirs. 

ARID  SOILS  Three  kinds  of  soil  are  seldom,  if  ever,  found 

in  the  arid  region.  These  are  peat  or  muck 
soils,  sour  or  acid  soils  and  leached  out  soils. 
The  soils  vary  greatly,  but  whether  sandy  or 


28  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

J 

clay,  they  are  similar  in  several  particular?. 
They  are  rich  in  lime.  They  have  all  the  min- 
erals contained  in  the  rocks  from  which  they 
came  and  sometimes  more,  because  of  accumula- 
tion of  soluble  salts.  They  are  poor  in  humus, 
or  vegetable  mold. 

Doctor  ITilgard  states  that  the  soils  over  a 
larger  part  of  the  arid  region  have  never  been 
Avet  to  a  depth  of  two  feet.  With  light  rainfall, 
there  is  no  percolation  of  Avnter  through  the  soil' 
to  carry  out  soluble  p.irt^.  When  the  compacted 
surface  soil  is  broken  up,  aerate;!  and  put  in  ab- 
sorbing condition,  it  catches  the  rains  and  SUOAVS 
and  the  loAver  soil  which  Avas  before  dry,  becomes 
saturated  with  the  moisture1  Avhich  would -other- 
Aviso  flow  off  the  surface  or  be  evaporated  from 
the  upper  layer. 

Soils  in  arid  regions  are  much  richer  in  solu- 
ble alkalis,  salts  and  mineral  plant  foods  than 
are  the  soils  of  humid  sections.  Where  the  rain- 
fall is  heaATy?  these  salts  have  bc'en  washed  into 
the  drainage.  They  haATe  become  a  part  of  the 
salt  of  the  sea  and  are  lost  to  agriculture.  Some 
of  the  minerals  are  essential  plant  foods,  others, 
soda  and  magnesia,  seem  to  stimulate  plant 
growth.  Still  others,  as  lime,  have  a  marked 
effect  on  the  character  and  condition  of  the  soil. 

It  has  been  shoAvn  that  the  humus  in  arid 
regions  contains  an  average  of  about  three  times 
as  much  nitrogen  as  the  humus  of  eastern  soils. 
^    Although  our  soils  are  poor  in  humus,  they  are 


%  ARID    AGRICULTURE.  29 

not  so  poor  in  nitrogen  as  the  lack  of  humus 
would  indicate.  But  it  is  in  looseness  or  floccula- 
tion  and  mineral  elements  that  our  western  soils 
excel.  Of  the  salts  of  sodium  and  magnesium, 
we  have  an  abundance  and  some  to  spare.  Ex- 
cessive accumulation  of  these  salts  through  over 
irrigation  and  lack  of  management  causes  the 
waste  spots  of  some  farms  whore  the  land  lias 
been  taken  with  alkali. 

Of  the  more  important  minerals,  as  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid,  the  most  of  our  soils  con- 
rain  enough  for  a  long  series  of  years  of  crop- 
ping. An  average  of  thirty-four  analyses  of 
soils  from  Colorado,  Wyoming  and  California, 
taken  consecutively,  though  somewhat  at  random 
from  the  reports,  gives  approximately  40.07.") 
pounds  of  potash  and  6,970  pounds  of 
phosphoric  acid  per  acre  in  the  surface 
soils,  given  in  Roberts'  "Fertility  of  the  Land." 
all  but  one  of  which  are  from  -the  East  and  South, 
gives  17,599  pounds  potash  and  3,936  pounds  of 
phosphoric  acid  per  acre  in  the  surface  soil.  This 
shows  over  two  and  one-fourth  times  as  much 
potash  and  one  and  three-fourth  times  as  much 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  arid  soils  which  have  been 
studied.  The  manner  in  which  the^e  minerals 
become  available  and  are  used  by  the  growing 
crops  is  another  question. 

ABID  This  book  is  the  first  attempt  to  present  to 

FARMING  A       the  farmers  of  the  West  a  handbook  of  aaricnl- 

NEW   SCIENCE 


30  ARID    AGRICULTURE.  , 

tural  practice,  suited  to  their  particular  needs. 
The  soil  culture  and  crop  treatment  required  to 
give  the  best  and  most  remunerative  returns  in 
the  West  are  not  given  elsewhere  in  any  availa- 
ble form.  The  dry  farmers  who  would  produce 
crops  with  a  minimum  amount  of  soil  moisture 
must  follow  a  definite  method.  The  irrigation 
farmer  or  stock  ranchman  can  meet  with  greater 
success  through  knowledge  of  new  scientific  facts 
relating  to  his  occupation,  and  the  dry  farmer, 
wherever  located,  will  find  it  useful  if  not  indis- 
pensable to  him  to  know  the  advanced  methods 
worked  out  for  his  special  conditions. 


Part  II. 


DRY  FARMING. 

With  faltering  steps  the  pioneer 

Who  could  not  see  the  future  clear 

Here  pitched  his  tent.     With  flock  and  herd 

He  garnered  wealth  from  forage  stored. 

'Rose  murmurs  when  some  spying  men 

Brought  from  the  land  the  fruit,  for  then 

'Twas  shown  that  in  this  barren  soil 

There  is  wealth  in  truth  to  be  gained  thru  toil. 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

RN\ 


CHAPTER  II. 


FARMING. 

Pessimism  about  our  possibilities  of  development  is 
sometimes  fostered  by  selfish  interests,  but  men  are 
often  mistaken  about  what  is  best  for  them. 

THE  TERM  lhe  term  "Dry  farming"  is  often  objected  to 

DRY  FARM-      because  it  states  an  untruth.       No  crop  can  be 

NG"  AS   GOOD  .   , 

AS  ANY  produced     without     moisture.       Dry     iarniing 

means  farming  where  the  annual  precipitation 
has  not  been  considered  sufficient  for  the  produc- 
tion of  profitable  crops.  Indeed,  dry  farming  is 
usually  carried  on  where  the  rainfall  of  one  sea- 
son is  not  sufficient  and  the  moisture  must  be 
saved  up  for  a  longer  period. 

Perhaps  dry  farming  is  as  good  a  combina- 
tion as  can  be  invented  to  specify  this  kind  of 
agriculture.  At  any  rate,  no  other  term  has  been 
suggested  which  covers  the  practice  and  is  not 
mure  objectionable.  To  designate  it  as  Scien- 
tific farming  is  not  good,  for  farming  is  an  art. 
Science  is  as  useful,  if  not  as  indispensable,  to 
other  forms  of  agriculture.  Scientific  fanning 
has  been  used  also  to  designate  the  semi-arid 
cropping  along  the  border  of  the  region  of  suf- 
ficient rainfall.  Arid  farming  is  a  most  excel- 
lent term,  but  it  has  a  broader  meaning.  As 
here  used  arid  agriculture  covers  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  production  from  the  soil  in  the  states 
where  aridity  prevails. 


34  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

DRY  FARM-  The  raising  of  crops  without  irrigation  in  a 

^  countlT  ig  n°t  new- 

In  some  parts  of  our  own  country,  farmers 
have  been  self-supporting  on  farms  which  receive 
less  than  fifteen  inches  of  rainfall  per  year,  for 
almost  a  half  century.  The  general  introduc- 
tion of  dry  farming  to  all  sections  of  the  west  is 
a  new  movement.  Men  of  little  faith,  with 
much  prejudice  and  less  information,  have  raised 
their  voices  in  most  vigorous  protest  wherever 
the  new  system  has  been  introduced.  Some  of 
this  opposition  is  righteous  indignation  over  the 
exaggerations  of  dry  farm  enthusiasts  and  land 
agents.  Regardless  of  such  opposition,  dry 
farming  has  met  with  such  degree  of  success 
everywhere  that  it  not  only  "holds  its  own  but  is 
spreading  rapidly.  Many  are  quick  to  claim 
that  the  successes  are  clue  to  excessive  moisture, 
but  with  the  use  of  the  two  year  conservation 
method  the  normal  rainfall  is  repeatedly  proven 
sufficient.  It  is  now  safe  to  predict  that  the 
system  has  come  to  stay  and  that  a  considerable 
portion  of  our  range  land  will  be  made  to  pro- 
duce more  profitable  crops  than  it  does  in  native 
grass.  Many  stockmen  are  wisely  trying  crop- 
ping on  a  small  scale.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  many  new  settlers  who  think  they  already 
"know  all  about  farming"  are  destined  to  fail, 
but  the  few  will  learn  how  and  practice  well 
what  they  learn.  Unless  in  unsuitable  locations, 
these  men  will  stick.  There  are  enough  favor- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


35 


THE   KEY   TO 

DRY 

FARMING 


DRY   FARM 
METHOD   AND 
SYSTEM 


able  locations  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  art  of 
ilry  farming  is  permanently  established. 

The  key  to  dry  farming  is  the  conservation 
of  moisture  and  making  it  available  to  the  grow- 
ing crop.  All  the  operations  of  soil  culture  and 
plant  cultivation  are  carried  out  with  the  object 
of  storing  moisture  in  the  soil  <ind  making  use, 
through  the  crop,  of  all  that  can  be  saved.  The 
tillage  which  is  carried  out  to  perfect  the  use  of 
the  water  supply  does  other  things  which  in- 
crease fertility  and  favor  the  growth  and  matur- 
ing of  plants. 

The  principle  then,  upon  which  dry  farming 
'depends  for  its  success  is  the  catching,  storing 
and  saving  of  enough  moisture  in  the  soil,  to  se- 
cure a  crop.  The  method  by  which  this  is  done 
includes  some  special  attention  to  all  the  factors 
of  tillage,  as  plowing,  planting,  harrowing  and 
cultivating.  So  the  dry  farmer  must  possess  and 
use  advanced  information  of  principles  and  prac- 
tice. The  system  which  is  generally  carried  out 
i>  to  conserve  two  years  moisture  for  one  crop. 
By  this  system  one-half  of  the  land  is  cropped 
each  year,  while  the  other  half  is  summer  tilled. 
In  favorable  seasons,  or  by  the  use  of  certain 
combinations,  it  is  often  possible  to  obtain  two 
crops  in  three  seasons.  No  doubt  there  are 
drouth  resistant  crops  which  can  be  made  to  pro- 
duce, every  year,  in  favorable  locations.  After 


36  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

a  crop  is  removed  from  the  soil  and  the  land  is 
again  put  in  condition  to  absorb  all  the  moisture 
that  comes,  should  there  be  heavy  rains,  it  may 
be  put  into  winter  grain  or  again  planted  to 
spring  crops  the  following  season.  The  soil  cul- 
ture and  crop  treatment  followed  must  be  carried 
out  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  way  to  in- 
sure the  greatest  success. 

SIZE  or  One  man  with  a  small  amount  of  extra  help 

DRY  FARMS  ^ou\^  De  ^[Q  to  farm  at  least  160  acres  by  the 
summer  tillage  system.  How  much  land  can  be 
used  to  advantage  depends  on  the  kind  of  farm- 
ing, knowing  how  to  take  advantage  of  condi- 
tions, having  the  proper  equipment  and  other 
things.  We  have  two  opposite  conditions  in  the 
arid  region.  The  small  farm  unit  is  most  profit- 
able for  pure  farming  under  irrigation.  The 
large  farm  unit  is  important  to  the  dry  farmer. 
Every  man  should  have  double  the  land  he  has  in 
crop  and  at  least  as  much  more  for  stock  pasture. 
A  section  of  land  would  secure  a  more  certain 
livelihood  than  smaller  holdings,  and  half  sec- 
tion farms  where  no  water  is  available  for  irri- 
gation are  as  small  as  should  be  acquired  by  the 
average  farmer,  over  a  large  section  of  the  dry 
farm  country. 

EQUIPMENT  It  does  not  require  any  new,  complicated  or 

FARMING  expensive  machinery  with  wyhich  to  follow  out 

the  most  successful  methods   of  dry   farming. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  37 

Ordinary  tools  may  be  used,  but  having  them  is 
absolutely  necessary.  The  bricklayer  would 
make  a  sorry  job  of  laying  up  a  wall  without  a 
trowel.  ~No  man  should  attempt  to  do  any  kind 
of  farming  without  proper  equipment.  The  dry 
farmer  ought  to  have  the  following  list  of  tools : 

Four  or  six  horses. 

Three  section  drag  harrow. 

A  two  gang  plow,  twelve  or  fourteen  inch. 

A  single  walking  plow. 

A  good  disc  harrow  (14  inch  disc  bes£). 

One  or  two  good  cultivators. 

An  Acme  harrow. 

Wagon  and  hayrack. 

Mowing  machine. 

Two  sets  of  harness. 

A  Press  drill. 

Potato  planter  and  digger. 

Harvesting  machine. 

An  alfalfa  harrow. 

A  weeder. 

A  float  or  drag. 

The  necessary  small  tools. 

MIXED  The  best  paying  dry  farms  will  be  those  in 

which  a  system  of  cropping  and  feeding  stock  is 
combined.  Where  the  crops  are  fed  to  stock  on 
the  farm  and  the  manure  and  waste  returned  to 
the  land,  the  loss  of  soil  fertility  is  so  small  that 
we  need  take  no  account  of  it.  In  fact,  while 


38  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

there  is  an  actual  loss  of  plant  food  from  the 
soil,  so  much  of  the  natural  stored  plant  food  is 
made  available  that  the  producing  power  of  the 
soil  continually  increases.  The  plant  food  ele- 
ments used  up  when  a  crop  is  fed  to  hogs  is  only 
15  per  cent.,  and  when  fed  to  horses,  cattle  or 
sheep  it  is  only  four  or  five  per  cent,  of  the  total. 
The  balance  is  left  in  the  manure  and  may  be  re- 
turned to  the  soil.  The  manure  is  a  very  im- 
portant item  also,  to  be  added  to  arid  soils,  as  it 
increases  their  vegetable  mold,  making  them  very 
retentive  of  moisture  and  helping  the  work  of 
soil  bacteria  and  chemical  agents. 

We  would  suggest  also  that  many  of  the 
grains  raised  for  stock  food  may  be  cut  and  fed 
without  threshing,  which  avoids  the  extra  work 
of  threshing  and  hauling  to  market.  There  are 
great  opportunities  in  the  arid  region  on  account 
of  our  market  facilities,  our  favorable  climate 
and  the  natural  richness  of  our  stock  foods  in 
protein,  for  the  building  up  of  profitable  stock 
feeding  industries.  The  feeding  of  lambs  is  al- 
ready of  much  importance,  and  there  is  hardly  a 
location  in  which  the  raising  and  feeding  of 
hogs,  principally  of  the  bacon  type,  cannot  be 
made  highly  profitable.  Poultry  properly  man- 
aged always  give  good  returns.  Many  dry  farm- 
ers also  will  have  the  use  of  more  or  less  adjoin- 
ing range  for  the  pasturage  and  partial  support 
of  their  stock. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  39 

SUITABLE  Xot  all  soils  are  suitable  for  dry  farming. 

Unless  a  soil  is  sufficiently  deep  and  sufficiently 
retentive  of  moisture,  or  can  be  made  so,  to  store 
the  water  that  falls  on  it  from  one  season  to  the 
next,  it  will  not  be  a  good  soil  for  this  system  of 
farming.  The  soil  must  be  looked  upon  as  a 
reservoir  for  water.  If  the  reservoir  is  too  shal- 
low or  too  hard  the  storm  water  will  not  soak 
into  it.  If  it  leaks  at  the  bottom  .or  cannot  be  so 
protected  that  too  much  of  the  moisture  will  not 
be  lost  by  evaporation  from  the  top,  attempts  to 
reclaim  it  will  meet  with  failure.  Many  of  our 
soils  are  hard  or  compact  at  the  surface  in  their 
natural  state,  but  may  be  made  to  absorb  all  the 
moisture  that  comes  by  a  single  plowing.  Heavy, 
compact  clay  absorbs  water  slowly,  and  loses  it 
rapidly  by  evaporation.  Such  a  soil,  especially 
if  underlaid  with  a  shallow  hardpan,  should  be 
avoided.  Sandy  loams  are  the  best  soils,  and  the 
more  sandy  they  are,  as  a  rule,  the  more  retent- 
ive they  are.  They  will  hold  water  better  if 
they  contain  a  supply  of  well  decomposed  veg- 
etable mold.  Such  soils  two  or  more  feet  deep 
can  usually  be  successfully  worked,  other  condi- 
tions being  favorable.  We  believe  it  no  detri- 
ment if  the  soil  is  underlaid  with  pure  sand  or 
small  gravel,  unless  such  sand  or  gravel  contains 
cement  which  makes  it  hardpan. 

Sandy  soils  are  kindly  soils.  They  are  easy 
and  pleasant  to  work.  They  give  the  farmer 
time  to  get  around  to  his  necessary  tillage  opera- 


40  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

tions.  There  is  little  danger  of  working  such 
soils  too  wet  and  practically  rone  of  injuring 
them  by  puddling  when  too  dry.  Heavier  soils 
may  do  if  they  contain  enough  lime  so  the  soil 
particles  are  well  "flocculated."  Lime  is  usu- 
ally abundant  in  western  soils.  Heavy  soils  may 
be  all  right  if  they  contain  a  sufficient  amount 
of  vegetable  matter.  Dry  soils  are  usually  defi- 
cient-in  humus  and  decomposed  vegetable  sub- 
stances. 

Flocculation  is  the  collecting  together  of  the 
very  fine  particles  of  soils  into  bunches  or  little 
flocks.  An  ounce  of  fine  soil  may  contain  over 
500  billion  particles  and  if  each  particle  re- 
mained by  itself,  plant  roots  could  not  feed  in 
the  soil.  Lime  seems  to  bring  the  fine  particles 
together  and  makes  the  soil  sufficiently  granular 
to  be  worked.  Vegetable  mold  serves  the  same 
purpose,  by  keeping  the  soil  particles  farther 
apart. 

A  new  farmer  who  is  in  doubt  about  select- 
ing his  soil,  or  what  to  do  for  it,  should  get  the 
advice  of  some  reliable  man  who  has  had  experi- 
ence. 

PERSONAL  There  are  three  great  personal  elements  of 

opEsuxjci:ss  character  not  possessed  by  the  unsuccessful 
farmer.  They  are,  first,  the  know-how.  Sec- 
ond, the  doit-now.  Third,  the  do-things-well. 
So  many  let  their  work  crowd  them.  They  do 
not  do  so  well  as  they  know.  There  is  often  un- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  41 

avoidable  neglect  to  do  important  things  at  the 
right  time.  More  is  generally  attempted  than 
can  be  done.  The  results  arising  from  lack  of 
these  traits  in  the  man,  are  often  laid  at  the  door 
of  natural  conditions  that  are  in  no  wise  respon- 
-ible. 

EXCEPTIONS  There  are  exceptions  to  all  rules.     Our  story 

°^  ^e  metnOfls  for  dry  farming  practice  will 
need  to  be  modified  in  detail  to  meet  the  particu- 
lar conditions  of  each  farm.  The  farmer's  ulti- 
mate success  depends  on  knowing  the  principles 
and  then  intelligently  applying  them  to  his  indi- 
vidual problems. 


CHAPTER   III. 


PLOWING 


PLOWING. 

The  plow  lias  evoluted  from  a  crude  war-club,  which 
was  put  to  use  for  tilling1  the  soil  and  afterward  became 
the  first  letter  of  the  alphabet. 

" Stirring  and  mixing  the  soil  is  the  funda- 
mental labor  of  agriculture."  (Roberts.)  Plow- 


Plate  III.     Plowing. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  43 

ing  is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  superstruc- 
ture of  farming  is  built.  It  is  the  matter  of 
first  concern  to  the  farmer.  Plowing  seems  to 
be  a  simple  and  easy  process,  but  both  the  science 
of  the  why  and  the  art  of  the  how,  are  deep  sub- 
jects. The  character  of  his  plowing  displays  the 
knowledge  of  the  dry  farmer  and  underlies  his 
success. 


DEPTH    OF 
PLOWING 


With  hardly  an  exception  the  recommenda- 
tion to  the  dry  farmer  is  to  plow  deep.  Ordi- 
narily this  means  to  plow  as  deep  as  possible 
which  will  generally  be  from  seven  to  ten  inches. 
This  first  commandment  for  dry  farming  is  prob- 
ably the  one  most  often  broken.  It  is  not  al- 
ways possible  to  plow  deep.  The  soil  may  be 
hard.  The  farmer  more  often  does  not  have  suf- 
ficient power  to  pull  his  plow.  A  common  con- 
dition on  wrestern  farms  is  small  horses,  few  of 
them — and  lack  of  that  care  which  gets  the  most 
out  of  a  horse.  Sometimes  the  right  kind  of 
plows  are  not  at  hand  or  are  not  kept  in  best  con- 
dition. 


WHY   PLOW 
DEEP 


The  first  reason  we  plow  deep  is  to  make  a 
large  enough  reservoir  to  absorb  and  hold  the 
moisture.  Our  soils  have  been  pounded  down 
for  centuries  by  the  patter  of  rains  and  the  feet 
of  animals.  They  are  too  compact  and  have  per- 
haps never  been  wet  to  a  depth  of  more  than  a 
few  inches.  When  in  tilth  some  of  these  soils 


44 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


INCREASES 

STORAGE 

CAPACITY 


PULVERIZES 
THE 


will  absorb  over  40  per  cent,  of  their  weight  of 
water.  If  they  contain  from.  8  per  cent,  to  20 
per  cent,  of  moisture  they  are  in  condition  to 
support  growing  crops.  A  crop  of  oats  at  Lara- 
mie  did  not  wilt  for  some  days  when  the  soil  con- 
tained as  little  as  3  per  cent,  of  moisture. 

How  the  storage  capacity  of  a  soil  may  be  in- 
creased  by  deep  plowing;  may  be  illustrated  by  a 

£  n  A  "1  •    I-  '  t' 

few  figures.  A  soil  weighing  one  ton  per  cubic 
yard,  weighs  approximately  1613  tons  per  acre 
taken  one  foot  deep.  If  such  a  soil  will  absorb 
and  hold  20  per  cent,  moisture  and  is  plowed  six 
inches  deep,  it  will  take  up  161.3  tons  of  moist- 
ure per  acre.  A  rainfall  of  1.4  inches  will  sup- 
ply this  amount  of  moisture  and  fill  up  our  six 
inch  reservoir.  If  the  ground  is  plowed  only 
three  inches  deep,  and  the  sub-soil  is  hard,  it 
would  not  be  able  to  store  a  rainfall  of  more  than 
seven-tenths  of  an  inch  and  should  more  water 
fall  at  one  time  it  will  be  lost  and  may  wash  the 
soil  away  with  it.  If  plowed  nine  inches  deep 
and  put  in  good  condition,  such  a  soil  reservoir 
would  absorb  and  hold  over  two  inches  of  rain- 
fall at  one  time.  A  soil  already  containing  a 
considerable  water  would  be  filled  up  with  less 
rain,  and  deep  plowing  would  be  still  more  im- 
portant. 


Deep  plowing  is   usually  good   plowing  in 
grinds  up  and  pulverizes  the  soil.     Soils 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  45 

that  are  plowed  deep  come  more  rapidly  into 
good  tilth.  Fining  the  soil  particles  releases  and 
makes  available  plant  food.  It  lets  in  warmth 
and  air  and  gives  better  chance  for  the  activitv 
of  chemical  agents  and  bacteria. 

PLOWING  ^ie  *ar£er  Part  °^  soluble  plant  food  becomes 

GIVES  BOOT      available  in  the  surface  soil.     Plant  roots  pass 
PASTURE  thru  it  easily  and  here  they  send  out  their  feed- 

ers to  make  use  of  the  foods  ready  for  them.  If 
four  inches  of  the  surface  soil  ie  kept  stirred  for 
mulch  the  difference  between  plowing  seven 
inches  deep  and  eight  inches  deep  equals  twenty- 
five  per  cent  in  the  area  of  the  surface  soil  upon 
which  the  roots  feed. 

DEEP  Where  the  soils  are  light  and  winds  drift 

PLOWING 

SAVES  THE        them,  .-hallow  plowing  may  result  in  all  the  top 
sorL  soil,  down  to  the  sole  of  the  furrow  being  blown 

away.  Deep  plowing  on  the  contrary,  thrmv- 
up  heavier  and  rougher  furrows,  and  tends  to 
anchor  the  soil  in  place.  Plowing  deep,  there- 
fore, both  prevents  washing  and  drifting. 

PLOWING  EEP  Wnere  s^ls  are  heavy,  it  often  happens  that 
MAY  NOT  DO  ^ly  an  inch  or  two  of  the  surface  is  in  condition 
for  the  growth  of  plants.  Turning  this  surface 
-«>il  under  and  covering  it  deeply  with  cold,  un- 
tamed and  unproductive  clay,  may  prevent  rais- 
ing a  good  crop  for  longer  time  than  it  is  desira- 
ble to  wait.  This  seldom  occurs  in  dry  farming, 
for  the  summer  fallow  will  tend  to  put  the  soil 


46 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


SUB-SOU. 

FLOWING 


into  tilth  before  the  first  crop  is  planted.  Some 
soils  may  be  so  shallow  that  it  is  not  well  to  plow 
them  deep.  Where  irrigation  is  practiced  in. 
some  of  our  drier  regions  where  the  soil  is  very 
poor  in  vegetable  matter,  merely  discing  two  or 
three  inches  of  the  surface  often  gives  a  better 
first  crop  of  grain  than  plowing.  Such  soils 
must  be  irrigated  often  and  carefully  because  the 
soil  may  wash  and  the  area  for  storage  of  moist- 
ure is  so  small  that  it  dries  out  quickly.  Gener- 
ally a  soil  that  is  suitable  for  dry  farming  is  one 
which  may  be  plowed  deeply. 

Subsoiling  is  done  by  using  a  digger  which 
follows  the  plow  and  tears  up  a  few  inches  of  the 
furrow  sole  or  by  means  of  a  mole  plow  which  is 
run  underneath  the  furrow  and  lifts  and  breaks 
up  the  subsoil  to  the  depth  of  fifteen  inches  or 
eighteen  inches.  It  is  expensive  to  prepare 
ground  by  subsoiling  and  is  not  recommended 
for  general  practice.  Our  rainfall  is  so  small 
that  so  large  a  reservoir  is  not  needed  for  storage 
of  moisture  and  where  irrigation  is  practiced 
there  seems  no  advantage  from  filling  so  much 
loose  soil  with  water  at  one  time.  There  are 
places  where  subsoiling  is  advisable,  and  it  often 
proves  profitable  for  root  crops  or  preparation  of 
land  for  tree  planting. 


SECOND  The  second  time  the   soil   is   turned,   plow 

about  two  inches  shallower  than  the  first  plow- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  47 

ing.  This  is  to  avoid  turning  up  the  undecom- 
posed  sod.  In  our  dry  climate  it  ordinarily 
takes  more  than  one  year  to  incorporate  any  veg- 
etable matter  plowed  under,  with  the  soil.  Crops 
plowed  under  when  green,  or  well  rotted  manure, 
will  become  humus  much  more  rapidly  than  w7ill 
dried  out  materials.  Sometimes  it  is  best  to  back 
set  the  land  by  turning  the  furrows  the  same  di- 
rection as  the  first  plowing.  If  the  land  is  in 
good  condition,  cross-plowing  will  do  more  to 
pulverize  and  make  a  good  seed  bed.  It  is  econ- 
omy to  make  the  lands  as  long  as  possible  to 
avoid  much  turning  at  the  corners  and  tramping. 
If  a  soil  is  plowed  year  after  year  at  the  same 
depth  the  sole  of  the  furrow  becomes  packed  and 
hardened  by  the  smoothing  action  of  the  plow 
bottom,  and  by  the  tramping  of  the  horses.  This 
may  bring  good  results  sometimes  where  irriga- 
tion is  practiced,  but  in  dry  farming,  doing  alter- 
nate plowings  at  different  depths,  tends  to  break 
up  the  furrow  sole  and  allow  movement  of  moist- 
ure to  and  from  the  subsoil. 

Good  plowing  is  the  kind  that  gives  the  best 
results  iu  the  crop.  What  good  plowing  is,  de- 
])(Mi<l<  on  conditions,  but  the  work  should  be  well 
done.  Poor  work  always  leaves  its  mark  and 
the  mark  is  always  a  minus  sign  when  its  result 
reaches  the  pocket  book.  Good  plowing  may  be 
defined  as  the  smooth,  even  furrow  so  turned  that 
the  soil  moved,  «ets  more  or  less  on  eds:e  with 


48  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

few  and  small  air  spaces  underneath,  and  with 
the  furrow  slice  crushed  and  pulverized  as  much 
as  possible.  There  should  be  no  skips  and  the 
cut  and  cover  method  is  absent.  To  do  good 
plowing  the  furrow  should  be  cut  no  wider  than 
tho  plow-share,  and  to  be  on  the  safe  side  good 
farmers  cut  an  inch  or  two  narrower  than  the 
size  of  their  plows.  The  plow  should  be  kept 
sharp  and  the  lays  properly  shaped.  A  factor 
in  good  plowing  is  to  do  the  work  when  the  soil 
is  in  the  right  condition.  This  will  differ  on 
every  farm.  Heavy  clay  soils  must  not  be 
plowed  too  wet.  There  is  little  danger  of  work- 
ing our  more  sandy  soils  when  wet.  Western 
soils  may  be  plowed  when  quite  dry  and  left  in 
condition  to  absorb  the  first  rains  or  melting 
snow.  The  lime  in  them  insures  flocculation  and 
there  is  little  danger  of  dry  puddling. 

WHEN  TO  Late  fall  or  early  spring  plowing  is  practiced 

PLOW  to  absorb  moisture.     In  some  parts  of  the  West, 

where  the  rainfall  comes  mainly  in  the  winter 
season,  the  soils  may  get  so  hard  and  dry  that 
until  the  rains  come  it  is  not  possible  to  plow 
them  in  the  fall.  Where  the  rainfall  comes  in 
the  spring  and  summer  the  soils  are  usually  in 
such  condition  that  they  may  be  plowed  in  the 
fall,  though  they  are  sometimes  very  dry.  A 
comparatively  new  practice  is  to  disc  the  sod  or 
stubble  immediately  after  a  crop  is  harvested  to 
save  the  moisture  and  keep  the  soils  in  condition 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  49 

to  be  fall  plowed.  The  spring  season  is  usually 
the  most  busy  one  and  especially  is  this  so  at 
high  altitudes  where  the  spring  work  must  be 
done  in  a  very  short  time.  Having  the  plowing 
out  of  the  way  by  doing  it  in  the  fall,  enables  the 
farmer  to  get  his  crop  in  early  in  the  spring,  and 
it  leaves  the  soil  in  the  best  condition  for  his  seed 
bed.  Small  seeds  as  alfalfa  and  grains  do  much 
better  if  they  are  planted  on  plowed  ground  that 
has  become  fairly  compact.  Plowing  for  pota- 
toes or  root  crops  where  the  soil  is  compact 
should  be  done  immediately  before  the  time  of 
planting.  Plowing  for  fall-sown  grains,  under 
the  two-year  fallow  system,  is  better  in  fall  if 
possible  or  it  may  be  done  in  spring  or  early 
summer. 

The  moldboard  plow  will  do  better  work  than 
the  disc.  On  this  account  we  strongly  recom- 
mend the  use  of  moldboard  plows  for  first  break- 
ing the  sod.  Disc  plows  have  come  to  stay,  and 
while  they  do  not  do  good  enough  work  on  sod, 
they  give  excellent  results  for  stubble  or  other 
old  ground,  and  the  draft  is  easier  than  with  the 
moldboard  plow.  The  disc  is  also  important  to 
the  dry  farmer  because  with  it,  he  may  plow  soils 
so  dry  that  the  old  form  of  plows  could  not  be 
made  to  stay  in  the  ground.  The  main  difficulty 
with  the  disc  plow  is  not  so  much  in  its  use  as  in 
its  misuse.  Nearly  every  one  tries  to  cut  too 
wide  a  furrow  with  their  discs,  which  results  in 


50 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


a  sort  of  cut  and  cover  plowing  which  will  riot 
give  the  best  crops. 

No  one  form  of  moldboard  plow  can  be  rec- 
ommended for  all  soils.  Where  the  soil  contains 
much  clay  or  gypsum  and  lime,  we  have  found 
the  steel  moldboard  will  scour  better  than,  a 
chilled  plow.  We  believe  in  using  a  plow  with 
a  steel  moldboard  and  with  interchangeable  lays. 
The  use  of  cast  shares  have  some  advantages.  On 
hard  soils  they  are  cheaper.  The  old  share  when 
worn  out  is  thrown  away  and  the  new  one  put  on 
always  leaves  the  plow  full  width.  Every  time  a 
steel  lay  is  sharpened  it  gets  smaller,  so  a  four- 
teen inch  plow  does  not  remain  fourteen  inches. 


Plate  IV.     Plowing  Dry  Sod  Seven  Inches  Deep. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


51 


The  steel  lays  are  useful,  however,  in  many  soils, 
and  if  a  farmer  has  a  soil  upon  which  he  can  use 
both  kinds  he  can  take  advantage  of  all  these 
conditions.  A  modification  of  the  old  sidehill 
plow  is  the  new  two-way  plow  with  which  the 
field  may  all  be  turned  from  one  side  and  avoid 
extra  tramping  as  well  as  dead  furrows  and  back 
furrows. 

Where  fields  are  large  enough  and  long  lands 
can  be  laid  out,  plowing  by  steam  or  gasoline  is 
being  adopted  in  many  parts  of  the  West.  On 
our  dry  prairies  at  considerable  distances  from 
water  and  coal  supply,  steam  plowing  proves  ex- 


Plate  V.      Plowing  First-Year  Stubble  Eleven  Inches  Deep. 


52  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

pensive.  There  are  new  gasoline  or  kerosene 
power  engines  which  are  coming  into  much  favor 
for  both  plowing  and  other  forms  of  power 
needed  on  the  farm.  A  steam  engine  requires 
for  its  running  an  extra  man  and  team  with 
water  tank,  and  where  distances  from  water  and 
coal  are  great,  this  item  of  expense  is  a  large  one. 
The  main  difficulty  with  any  kind  of  power 
plowing,  seems  to  be  ]ack  of  knowledge  and  skill 
on  the  part  of  operators.  This  kind  of  work  has 
been  eminently  successful  where  men  who  un- 
derstand their  business  can  be  obtained  to  do 
the  work. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


WATER 
REQUIRE- 
MENTS   OF 
PLANTS 


THE  CONSERVATION  or  MOISTURE. 

No  one  should  think  that  dry  farming-  is  an  attempt 
to  grow  plants  without  moisture.  Water  is  essential, 
and  how  to  save  it  for  the  use  of  the  crop  is  the  greatest 
discovery  of  the  age. 

There  has  been  much  speculation  in  regard 
to  the  possible  production  of  a  crop  with  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  moisture.  This  interest  has 
arisen  from  experiments  carried  out  in  France 
and  parts  of  this  country,  which  show  the  amount 
of  water  taken  up  by  plants  and  transpired  from 
their  leaves  to  produce  their  growth.  In  one  of 
these  experiments,  it  was  shown  that  it  took  an 
average  of  three  hundred  pounds  of  water  taken 
from  the  soil  to  produce  one  pound  of  dry  matter. 
On  this  basis,  Headden  made  a  calculation  of  the 
approximate  amount  of  water  required  for  the 
production  of  a  twenty-five-ton  crop  of  sugar 
beets.  Where  sugar  beets  produce  a  large  amount 
of  tops,  these  tops  have  been  known  to  equal  at 
least  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  roots. 
To  grow  twenty-five  tons  of  beets,  then,  there 
would  be  twenty-two  and  one-half  tons  of  tops. 
In  the  beets  there  would  be  five  tons  of  dry  mat- 
ter, requiring  fifteen  hundred  tons  of  water,  and 
the  tops  and  beets  together  would  require  2,175 
tons.  This  amount  of  water  would  cover  the 
land  to  a  depth  of  over  nineteen  inches,  and  on 


0-1-  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

this  basis,  twelve  and  one-half  tons  per  acre  could 
be  produced  with  ten  inches  of  moisture,  pro- 
vided it  is  all  saved  and  made  available  to  the 
plants. 

Several  years  ago,  the  author  made  the  fol- 
lowing statement:  The  amount  of  water  found 
to  be  necessary  to  produce  one  pound  of  dry  crop 
of  grains  in  the  humid  region  is  approximately 
five  hundred  pounds,  which  is  used  by  the  plant 
and  evaporated  from  the  soil  during  growth.  An 
annual  rainfall  of  twelve  inches  would  bring  to 
each  acre  of  land  2,722,500  pounds  of  water. 
If  all  this  water  could  be  made  available  for  the 
crop  during  the  growing  season,  and  assuming 
that  500  pounds  of  water  is  sufficient  to  produce 
one  pound  of  dry  crop,  twelve  inches  of  rain 
would  produce  5,445  pounds,  or  approximately 
2%  tons  of  vegetable  matter.  If  one-half  the 
rainfall  of  a  single  year  could  be  saved  to  the 
growing  plant,  it  would  support  more  crop  than 
the  average  native  hay  production  of  our  irri- 
gated meadows. 

Such  speculations  are  useful  as  indicating 
certain  possibilities,  but  it  is  unquestionably  true 
that  some  plants  require  more  moisture  than 
others,  and  there  are  many  things  to  consider 
outside  of  the  actual  amount  of  moisture  used. 
There  are  drouth-resistant  crops  which  will  ap- 
proximately stand  still  in  time  of  drouth  until 
more  moisture  renews  their  growth.  Other 
drouth-resistant  crops  have  so  adapted  them- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  55 

selves  to  arid  conditions  that  they  produce  less 
top  and  leaf  surface  to  evaporate  the  water  and 
put  their  energies  chiefly  into  the  production  of 
seed  or  fruit  rather  than  into  the  making  of 
much  growth.  We  find  nothing  in  these  scien- 
tific speculations  which  is  discouraging  to  the 
dry  farmer  or  which  would  indicate  that  it  is 
impossible  to  produce  profitable  crops  of  suitable 
plants  once  in  two  years  where  the  annual  rain- 
fall is  as  little  as  eight  or  ten  inches.  "The  proof 
of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eating,"  and  such  crops 
having  actually  been  produced  under  such  condi- 
tions, is  sufficient  demonstration  of  the  fact. 

Having  the  principal  rainfall  come  during 
the  growing  season  is  a  great  advantage  in  some 
\VIIY-.  Often  a  crop  will  have  used  up  the  stored 
soil  moisture  and  be  ready  to  give  up  the  struggle 
when  a  rain  will  revive  the  plants  and  make 
them  mature  >ii(-;-cs^fully.  This  enables  the 
farmer  to  take  advantage  of  that  useful  s<»:ni- 
dormant  or  waiting  character  of  certain  drouth- 
resistant  plains. 

Maintaining  the  soil  mulch  is  one  of  the 
nmsr  important  factors  in  the  success  of  dry 
farming.  It  is  by  the  soil  mulch  that  we  are 
able  to  make  our  soils  absorb  all  the  moisture 
that  comes  to  them  by  precipitation  or  from  dews 
or  other  nmistnre.  By  it  we  conserve  this  mois- 
ture and  prevent  its  loss  back  into  t\ie  air  by 
evaporation.  Summer-tilled  land  should  at  all 


56  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

times  be  covered  with  this  mulch,  which  should 
be  in  granular  form  of  small  lumps.  Care  should 
be  taken  not  to  get  it  too' fine.  Dust  does  not 
absorb  moisture  so  well  and  is  apt  to  drift  or 
blow  away.  Working  the  ground  when  dry  will 
tend  to  make  the  surface  soil  too  fine.  The  ob- 
ject of  cultivating  the  summer-fallowed  soil  is 
to  prevent  the  formation  of  a  crust  after  heavy 
rains ;  to  allow  proper  action  of  sun  and  air ;  to 
prevent  the  moisture  from  rising  to  the  surface 
where  it  will  evaporate  and  to  destroy  tlie  growth 
of  weeds.  The  film  moisture  in  the  soil  travels 
up  and  down  by  what  is  called  capillary  action. 
This  is  merely  the  flowing  of  the  moisture  which 
surrounds  one  particle  of  the  soil  to,  and  around, 
the  next  soil  particle,  which  is  close  enough  to 
touch  the  film  and  so  on  as  long  as  the  soil  par- 
ticles are  close  enough  together,  until  it  reaches 
the  surface  where  it  is  evaporated.  By  stirring 
the  soil,  we  let  in  air  and  separate  the  grains  of 
soil  so  the  capillary  movement  is  stopped,  and 
loss  by  evaporation  is  prevented.  The  soil  mulch 
must  be  maintained  over  the  whole  field,  and 
the  drag  harrow  is  the  principal  tool  used  for 
this  purpose.  Writers  have  recommended  that 
those  who  practiced  summer-f  nllowing  should  get 
on  to  the  land  with  the  harrow  immediately  after 
every  rain  or  snow.  This  is  not  always  neces- 
sary or  advisable,  for  working  too  soon  may 
cause  rapid  loss  of  the  moisture  which  is  still  in 
the  surface  layer.  The  ground  should  be  worked 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


57 


as  soon  after  every  heavy  rain  or  snow  as  it  is 
dry  enough.  Do  not  wait  too  long,  for  when  too 
dry  the  soil  will  dust  and  drift.  Light  rains 
may  cause  actual  loss  of  soil  moisture  by  form- 
ing a  connection  which  lilts  the  water  to  the  sur- 
face, where  it  is  lost  into  the  air.  Judgment 
should  be  used  and  the  ground  cultivated  as 
earlv  and  often  as  the  conditions  indicate. 


HUMUS  AND 

VEGETABLE 
MOLD 


PACKING 
THE   SOU, 


There  is  much  misconception  about  what 
humus  is.  Often  when  we  speak  of  humus,  we 
do  not  mean  true  humus,  but  refer  to  the  par- 
tially decayed  plant  substances,  which  were  bet- 
ter called  vegetable  mold.  True  humus  is  the 
final  product  of  the  decay  of  organic  matter  in 
the  soil.  It  is  a  very  complex  chemical  com- 
pound, which  contains  nitrogen,  and  may  act  in 
an  important  way  toward  the  change  and  use  of 
soil  plant  foods.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the 
partially  decayed  vegetable  matter  which  has  so 
much  to  do  with  tilth.  This  substance  absorbs 
water,  holds  the  soil  particles  apart,  aerates  the 
soil,  and  fosters  bacterial  and  chemical  changes 
which  are  of  most  value  to  living  plants.  This 
decaying  condition  must  be  kept  up  by  continual 
renewal  of  organic  matter. 

There  are  three  or  more  conditions  of  soil 
which  call  for  the  use  of  some  form  of  packer. 
Soils  that  are  covered  with  so  much  grass  that 
they  do  not  naturally  fall  close  enough  to  shut 


58  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

out  large  air  spaces  at  bottom  of  the  furrows  may 
be  packed  to  advantage.  Loose  loam  soils  that 
overlie  a  sub-soil  which  contains  considerable 
moisture  may  be  packed  to  bring  the  particles 
close  enough  -together  to  lift  the  moisture  from 
below  by  increased  capillary  action.  The  sur- 
face soil  may  sometimes  be  packed  to  either 
warm  it  or  get  rid  of  surplus  moisture.  Where 
good  results  follow  packing,  it  should  not  be  neg- 
lected for  it  may  mean  success.  Many  Western 
soils,  especially  those  containing  much  granite, 
sand  or  gypsum  and  lime  naturally  become  com- 
pacted very  soon  after  plowing.  Such  soils  may 
be  so  hard  that  the  attempt  to  Jceep  them  prop- 
erly loosened  up  is  more  important  than  trying 
to  maJce  them  more  compact. 

USE  OF  THE  Rolling  soil  warms  it.    There  are  cold,  damp 

HOLLER  soj}s  which  may  be  rolled  at  times  with  advan- 

tage. It  is  usually  better  to  use  a  corrugated 
roller  in  the  West,  because  it  leaves  the  surface 
rough  and  there  is  less  drying  out  or  drifting  by 
winds.  The  smooth  roller  on  young  grain  will 
sometimes  bring  up  the  moisture  and  cause  the 
soil  to  absorb  enough  warmth  to  prevent  injury 
by  cold.  The  roller  is  not  an  essential  farm  im- 
plement on  Western  farms. 

THE  The    subsurface    packer,    recommended    for 

arid  soils,  consists  of  a  series  of  wedge-shaped 
wheels,  about  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  and 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  59 

set  six  inches  apart.  The  object  is  to  pack  the 
lower  half  of  the  plowed  area  and  leave  the  sur- 
face loose.  This  implement  is  of  value  on  many 
soils.  Its  use  has  not  always  given  valuable  re- 
sults on  our  more  arid  soils.  There  is  little  ad- 
vantage to  be  gained  by  the  use  of  the  subsurface 
packer  over  much  of  the  arid  region  unless  it  is 
on  spring  plowing  of  sandy  soils,  because  the 
soil  and  subsoil  is  not  such  that  the  compacted 
area  either  attracts  or  saves  additional  mois- 
ture, and  the  ground  becomes  sufficiently  dense 
for  the  roots  of  crops  without  the  additional 
work.  Pacl-inr/  is  often  of  great  value.  Many 
have  observed  instances  of  winter  grain  in  the 
packed  area  left  by  wagon  or  drill  wheels  passing 
over  it,  living,  where  adjoining  grain  was  killed 
out.  Generally  spring  grains  produce  better 
iiTu\vth  and  crops  where  some  wheel  has  pressed 
the  soil  together. 

We  believe  that  packing  is  always  advisable 
around  the  newly  planted  seed  and  recommend 
almost  with  no  exception  tlie  use  of  some  form  of 
press  drill.  The  subsurface  packer  is  better 
than  either  the  smooth  roller,  or  corrugated 
roller,  unless  it  is  desirable  to  lose  moisture  in- 
stead of  save  it,  or  warming  the  soil  for  a  time 
is  the  end  sought.  Where  the  packer  is  used, 
the  soil  should  be  harrowed  immediately  after- 
ward to  establish  the  earth  mulch. 


60 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


HARROWING  Next  to  plowing,  the  principal  operation  on 

the  dry  farm  is  persistent  and  continuous  use  of 
the  harrow.  The  ground  should  always  be  har- 
rowed the  same  day  it  is  plowed,  and  if  it  is  new 
sod-ground,  at  least,  the  harrow  should  be  run 
the  same  direction  as  the  plow.  This  harrowing 
should  be  kept  up  often  enough  to  maintain  a 
proper  surface  mulch  for  the  prevention  of  the 
loss  of  moisture  by  evaporation.  Small  grains 
should  be  harrowed  in  the  spring  and  no  damage 
will  be  done  if  the  harrow  is  run  crosswise  of 
the  drills,  the  harrow  teeth  kept  sharpened  and 
the  horses  made  to  walk  fast.  The  main  tools 
to  use  for  shallow  surface  cultivation  is  the  drag, 
or  spiked-toothed  harrow,  and  the  weeder. 
Every  farmer  should  have  one  with  levers  by 
which  he  can  regulate  the  slant  of  the  teeth.  It 
does  not  pay  to  use  a  two-horse  harrow  on  large 
fields.  Four-horse  tools  of  all  kinds  are  far 
more  economical.  With  a  three-section  harrow 
and  four  horses,  a  man  or  boy  can  cover  thirty 
to  thirty-five  acres  per  day,  which  makes  the 
maintenance  of  summer  tillage  possible  on  a  con- 
siderable area  of  farm  land. 


THE   DISC 
HARROW 


The  disc  is  an  indispensable  farm  implement 
in  the  West.  Discs  of  fourteen  inches  diameter 
do  much  better  and  more  effective  work  than  do 
those  of  larger  size.  The  draft  is  not  so  light 
as  is  that  of  sixteen  or  eighteen-inch  discs,  but 
the  object  of  farm  operations  is  to  do  the  work, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  61 

and  good  work  cannot  be  done  with  a  large  disc. 
The  disc  should  be  used  to  break  up  the  surface 
sod  or  stubble  immediately  after  harvesting,  and 
where  this  is  done,  it  will  be  found  that  plowing 
will  produce  a  much  better  seed  bed.  Turning 
under  the  disced  surface  also  leaves  less  air  space 
and  the  soil  reservoir  is  more  perfect.  The  disc 
is  useful  to  destroy  weeds  on  summer  tillage,  but 
it  must  be  used  when  the  weeds  are  small.  It 
will  merely  cultivate  large  weeds.  Always  lap 
the  disc  one-half,  which  double-discs  the  ground 
and  leaves  it  level.  The  disc  is  very  useful  for 
certain  forms  of  cultivation,  especially  with  al- 
falfa. The  new  alfalfa  harrow  consisting  of  a 
series  of  spikes  arranged  in  disc  form  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  best  tools  for  the  cultivation  of 
alfalfa. 

Perhaps  the  Acme  harrow  is  one  of  the  most 
useful  soil  pulverizers  for  the  farm.  It  does 
most  excellent  work  where  shallow  surface  culti- 
vation is  required.  The  spring-tooth  harrow  is 
a  useful  implement  for  harrowing  compact  and 
tough  soils.  There  are  some  new  harrows  now 
being  constructed  on  the  general  plan  of  the  old 
drag  or  toothed  harrow,  but  with  modified  teeth. 
One  is  a  small  disc  three  or  four  inches  in  diam- 
eter, riveted  horizontally  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
harrow  tooth.  Another  has  the  lower  end  of  the 
harrow  tooth  bent  at  right  angles  and  flattened 
and  sharpened  in  the  form  of  a  knife  blade. 


62 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


THE 
WEEDER 


These  harrows  serve  the  double  purpose  of  loos- 
ening the  soil  and  cutting  off  weeds. 

The  weeder  is  a  modified  harrow  with  long 
curved  spring  teeth.  It  is  a  most  valuable  im- 
plement on  dry  farms  for  the  easy  and  rapid  eul- 


Plate  VI.      The  Weeder  in  Grain.       Photo  by  McWethy. 

tivatioii  of  grains  and  other  crops.  It  can  be 
used  after  the  plants  are  too  high  for  ordinary 
harrowing.  For  large  work,  using  four-horse 
gang  weeder s  is  most  economical  in  time  and 
labor. 


GOOD 
HARROWING 


Good  harrowing  for  the  purpose  of  conserv- 
ing moisture  is  that  which  more  thoroughly 
breaks  up  the  surface  soil,  without  making  dust 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  63 

of  it,  kills  the  weeds,  saves  the  moisture,  and  cul- 
tivates the  crop.  If  the  soil  is  hard  or  wet  and 
in  such  condition  that  the  disc  or  harrow  teeth 
leave  open  scratches  and  cracks  instead  of  mix- 
ing and  turning  the  soil,  the  loss  of  water  will  be 
greater  than  it  would  be  u'ithoiit  harrowing  at 
all 

WHEN  AND  In  summer  tillage  it  is  not  .necessary  to  har- 

row  "^ie  ground  after  every  small  rain,  but  it 
should  not  be  neglected  as  soon  as  the  ground  is 
in  condition  to  work  after  every  heavy  rain  or 
melting  snow.  There  are  few  crops  raised  by 
the  dry  farmer  which  might  not  be  vastly  im- 
jimvcd  by  harrowing.  We  do  not  advise  har- 
rowing at  all  for  sugar  beets,  as  the  special  cul- 
tivators are  better  to  use.  Corn,  or  any  of  the 
small  grain*,  will  be  improved  by  thorough  har- 
rowing up  to  the  time  they  are  four  or  five  inches 
or  even  more  in  height.  Harrow  native  mead- 
ows and  pastures  to  break  them  up  when  sod- 
bound  and  aerate  these  naturally  compact  soils 
and  to  cultivate  the  grasses.  Harrow  late  in  the 
fall,  or  winter,  or  early  in  the  spring,  lands  in- 
fested with  grasshoppers  or  cut-worms  or  army 
worms  to  kill  the  insects.  When  you  cannot 
think  of  any  more  important  work,  go  to  the 
field  and  harrow. 


CHAPTER   V. 


CHOP  MANAGEMENT. 

After  storing  water  in  the  soil  or  depositing-  money 
in  the  bank,  we  must  draw  on  it  in  a  practical  way. 

RESISTANT  Some  of  the  most  resistant  crops  to  drouth 

CROPS  are  macaroili  wheat,  kafir  corn,  sorghum,  millet 

corn,  potatoes,  alfalfa,  brome  grass,  wheat  grass, 
spelt,  beans,  winter  rye,  sainfoin,  peas,  vetches 
and  Jerusalem  artichokes.  Crops  may  be  resist- 
ant to  other  things  of  importance  as  well  as 
drouth  resistant.  In  parts  of  the  arid  region 
there  are  streaks  where  hail  storms  are  more  or 
less  frequent.  Some  plants  will  withstand  the 
effects  of  hail  much  better  than  others.  A  heav- 
ily bearded  grain  like  Macaroni  or  Durum  wheat 
or  Turkey  Eed  wheat  will  not  be  so  badly  in- 
jured by  light  hail  storms  as  will  other  kinds  of 
grain.  Flax  is  a  good  hail-resistant  crop  and 
sugar  beets  will  recover  after  severe  hail  storms 
have  practically  pounded  them  into  the  ground. 
Farmers  are  also  coming  to  appreciate  more 
and  more  disease  resistant  crops.  It  seems  im- 
portant that  we  should  produce  potatoes  resistant 
to  root  rot  and  blight.  Some  varieties  seem  more 
resistant  to  these  diseases  than  others  but  the 
matter  has  not  been  fully  enough  worked  out  to 
make  definite  recommendations.  We  are  work- 
ing on  the  leaf-spot  disease  of  alfalfa  with  hopes 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


65 


of  securing  i  nun  unity  from  destruction  by  this 
disease.  * 


PLANTING 
THE  CROP 


THE  PRESS 

DRIZ.I. 


Good  seed,  good  land  and  good  farming  re- 
quire good  planting.  Special  machines  for 
planting  are  as  important  as  plows  or  other  im- 
plements for  preparing  the  ground.  Grain  sown 
broad  cast  or  potatoes  planted  by  hand  are  at  the 
risk  of  the  farmer  and  at  the  best  can  be  ex- 
pected to  give  only  indifferent  returns.  Grain 
that  is  broad  casted  and  harrowed  or  cultivated 
to  cover,  is  never  well  planted.  The  work  is  all 
unevenly  done.  Some  of  the  seed  is  covered  too 
deep — some  not  deep  enough — the  soil  is  not 
packed  around  the  seed — the  plants  do  not  have 
the  advantages  of  light,  air  and  the  cultivation 
ilioy  get  in  the  drill  rows. 

The  press  drill  is  an  essential  implement  for 
the  dry  fanner  and  will  pay  for  itself  in  a  single 
season  on  any  average  sized  farm  of  the  West.  It 
plants  the  grain  evenly,  at  a  proper  depth,  puts 
it  in  contact  with  moist  soil  and  presses  the  soil 
around  the  seed  in  a  way  which  secures  quick 
and  strong  germination  of  the  seed  and  the  best 
early  growth  of  the  seedling  plants.  A  week  or 
ten  days  is  gained  in  the  season  by  this  prompt 
germination  and  quick  growth.  There  is  a  large 
saving  of  seed  which  is  an  important  item.  Forty 
pounds  of  seed  press-drilled  is  equal  to  sixty 
pounds  sown  broadcast,  a  saving  of  33  per  cent. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


TIME   TO 
SOW   GRAINS 


Plate  VII.      The  Press  Drill. 

Planting  fall  or  winter  grains  secures  ad- 
vantages to  the  farmer  over  sowing  spring  crops. 
They  have  a  long  season  and  usually  will  ma- 
ture before  drouth  sets  in.  Only  the  winter 
wheat,  winter  rye  and  winter  emmer  are  hardy 
enough  in  our  northern  arid  region.  Winter  oats 
have  been  grown  as  far  north  as  northern  Wyom- 
ing east  of  the  mountains,  but  the  varieties  now 
used  cannot  be  depended  on  to  produce  a  crop. 
Winter  barley  is  being  tried  but  it  cannot  be  rec- 
ommended as  successful  yet.  Winter  rye  and 
Turkey  Eed  wheat  give  surprisingly  good  results. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  67 

Xear  Cheyenne  these  grains  stood  a  winter  of 
unusual  drouth,  there  being  only  one  and  one- 
third  inches  of  precipitation  in  eight  months. 
After  standing  this  remarkable  drouth,  winter 
rye  produced  44  bushels  and  winter  wheat  35 
bushels  per  acre.  The  author  is  breeding  winter 
dinners  for  the  arid  region  and  these  grains  give 
promise  of  revolutionizing  the  stock-feeding  in- 
dustry of  our  Avestern  plateaus.  Sow  winter 
grains  on  summer  tilled  land  in  September  or 
the  first  half  of  October.  At  lower  altitudes  on 
irrigated  land  some  farmers  have  sown  wheat 
any  time  up  to  the  hard  freezing  weather  with 
success-.  Where  fall  sown  grain  can  be  pastured 
it  may  be  planted  earlier. 

Spring  sown  crops  should  be  planted  as  early 
as  the  ground  can  be  made  ready  and  danger  of 
heavy  freezing  is  over.  Catch  or  volunteer  crops 
sometimes  yield  enough  to  be  of  value  from  seed 
that  shatters  off  in  the  fall. 

SEED  PER  Much  of  the  success  of  dry  farming  depends 

on  thin  seeding.  More  beginners  in  dry  farm- 
in  2;  Qow  too  much  seed  rather  than  too  little. 
Where  grains  are  sowrn  early  and  have  a  corre- 
spondingly long  season,  there  is  more  chance  for 
stooling.  For  the  same  reason  we  should  sow 
larger  amounts  of  seed  when  we  are  late 
doing  the  work.  There  may  be  moisture  enough 
to  support  ten  grain  plants  per  square  foot  when 
twenty  plants  would  die  of  thirst.  Limited 


68  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

moisture  therefore  calls  for  thin  planting  that 
there  may  be  less  danger  of  "firing"  before  the 
crop  matures.  If  the  season  is  well  advanced 
and  the  soil  moist  and  warm  so  grains  shoot 
up  rapidly  they  do  not  take  time  to  stool  or  make 
tillers.  The  reason  that  some  grains  are  more 
drouth  resistant  than  others  is  that  they  have 
grown  in  dry  regions  so  long  they  have  lost  the 
habit  of  tillering  to  a  large  extent  and  also  pro- 
duce less  leanness  to  pump  moisture  from  the 
soil.  The  following  seed  table  will  be  found  very 
useful  for  dry  farming.  The  amounts  of  see*] 
given  are  based  on  the  very  best  condition  of  seed 
bed,  planting  at  the  right  time  and  with  a  drill 
which  does  the  work  in  the  best  possible  manner. 
The  farmer  whose  seed  bed  is  in  poor  tilth  or 
dry,  or  who  plants  late  or  with  poor  methods, 
should  increase  the  amounts  of  seed  recom- 
mended by  from  30  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  69 

Minimum 
Seed  per 

Acre 
CROP.  Remarks.  Pounds. 

Alfalfa  For  hay,  drilled 10 

Alfalfa  For  hay,  broadcast 25 

Alfalfa  For  seed  in  wide  rows 2 

(anada  Field  Peas (Small)     40 

Field  Peas (Large  varieties)    50 

Sand  Vetch 20 

Millet   Siberian    8 

Millet   Common  or  German 5 

Proso    Drouth-resisting  Broom 

Corn  Millet    6 

Brome  Grass 20 

Meadow  Fescue 20 

\\c~i  ci'ii  Wheat  Grass 15 

Slender  Wheat  Grass 20 

Barley    For  threshed  grain 35 

.Barley    Beardless  for  feed 50 

Oats    For  grain   35 

Oats   For  hay 60 

Rye Winter  or  Spring 30 

Winter  Wheat Drilled    ' 30 

Durum  Spring  Wheat.  .  -Drilled     40 

Polish  Wheat For  feed   60 

Emmer  or  Spelt For  feed   40 

Buckwheat 20 

Flax   For  seed   25 

Flax  For  fibre 50 

Broom  Corn 2 

Field  Beans    ( Small )     20 

Corn In  hills  and  thin 4 

Corn In  drills   7 

Sweet  Corn For  fodder   10 

Sorghum    For  seed   8 

Sorghum    For  fodder   20 

Kafir  Corn 4 

Turnips    2 

Carrots    3 

Mangel  Wurzel  or 

Stock  Beets 8 

Sugar  Beets  .  ..To  be  thinned..  ..20 


70  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

SOME  SEED  The  best  seed,  regardless  of  cost  is  the  most 

SUGGESTIONS  pj.^^^  The  cost  of  good  seed  is  small  com- 
pared with  the  value  of  the  resulting  crop.  The 
difference  in  the  price  of  first  and  second  grade 
seed  does  not  make  a  great  difference  in  the  total 
cost  per  acre.  Like  produces  like.  The  hest 
seed  invariably  results  in  the  best  crop.  It  is 
especially  important  that  the  dry  farmer  plant 
thoroughly  clean  seed  that  is  free  from  weeds. 
We  know  of  nothing  that  causes  greater  loss  than 
the  presence  of  worthless  weeds.  They  rob  the 
soil  of  its  moisture  and  use  plant  food  that  be- 
longs to  the  crop. 

Without  exception  every  student  of  western 
farming  recommends  the  use  of  seed  that  is  ac- 
climated or  that  has  been  grown  under  the  same 
conditions  as  those  where  they  are  to  be  planted, 
or  as  near  these  conditions  as  is  possible  to  ob- 
tain. This  subject  of  the  breeding  of  varieties 
suitable  to  our  western  conditions  and  the  adap- 
tation of  plants  to  soil  and  climate  is  one  of  the 
most  important  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  As 
a  rule  seeds  raised  under  irrigation  or  in  a 
humid  climate  are  not  good  seeds  for  dry  farm- 
ing. Good  seed  cannot  be  produced  as  cheaply 
or  sold  for  the  same  price  that  common  bulk 
crops  bring.  With  the  breeding  work  that  is  now 
inaugurated  in  the  arid  region  it  will  be  but  a 
few  years  before  new  and  improved  varieties  of 
farm  seeds  will  be  made  available.  This  work 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  71 

cannot  fail  to  make  our  western  farming  more 
successful  and  profitable. 

cux,TivATiNa  The  principal  implements  for  cultivating 
grain  are  the  drag  harrow  and  the  weeder. 
When  the  grain  is  too  high  to  be  harrowed  a 
weeder  may  then  be  used  to  much  advantage. 
Sometimes  the  weeder  may  do  the  best  work 
from  the  first.  To  do  the  work  properly  the 
harrow  teeth  must  be  kept  sharp  and  slanted. 
Good  work  cannot  be  done  with  dull  or  stubbed- 
off  teeth.  Always  harrow  cross-ways  of  the  drill 
marks  if  possible  to  do  so.  It  often  looks  as 
though  great  injury  were  being  done  by  harrow- 
ing small  grain,  but  it  never  fails  to  turn  out 
beneficially.  Winter  wheat  should  be  harrowed 
one  or  more  times  in  the  spring  and  going  over 
twice  may  be  necessary  to  do  effective  work. 
Small  grains  or  even  corn  may  be  harrowed  until 
six  or  seven  inches  high.  The  harrow  is  a  good 
thing  to  run  over  the  potato  field  or  field  peas 
just  when  they  are  coming  up. 

HARVESTING  Of  course  the  harvest  may  be  carried  on  by 

ordinary  methods,  but  the  soil  should  not  be  neg- 
lected at  this  time.  Where  our  rainfall  comes 
during  the  summer,  discing  the  stubble  after  har- 
vesting grain  is  important.  After  harvesting 
potatoes  or  sugar  beets  the  drag  harrow  should 
be  used  to  break  up  the  lumps  and  re-establish 
the  soil  mulch.  Barley  or  other  grains  that  can 


72 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


GRAIN 
FARMING 


be  used  for  feed  without  threshing  should  be  har- 
vested when  in  the  stiff  dough.  This  prevents, 
in  a  measure,  re-seeding  the  ground  through  the 
grain  shattering  out,  for  in  this  country  practi- 
cally all  the  ripe  grain  which  drops  on  the  ground 
in  the  fall  comes  up  the  next  spring  as  a  volun- 


Plate  VIII.    Dr.  V.  T.  Cooke  and  the  Beardless  Feeding 
Barley.     Raised  by  Dry  Farming — 1908. 

teer  crop.  If  the  grain  can  be  fed  without 
threshing  it  is  marketed  in  the  best  possible  way 
from  the  farm  and  saves  the  cost  of  threshing 
and  handling. 

Pure  grain  farming  is  not  the  best  type  of 
permanent  agriculture.      On  suitable  soils,  how- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


73 


ever,  both  with  and  without  the  summer-fallow 
-ystcin,  farmers  have  practiced  grain  farming  on 
i  lie  same  soils  for  more  than  thirty  years  in  parts 
of  the  West  and  they  have  become  thrifty  and 
even  wealthy  doing  so.  There  is"  no  doubt  but 
such  soil  robbery  will  result  in  depletion  in  time. 


Plate  IX.    The  Wyoming  State  Dry  Farm  Commission. 
Coming  Thru  the  Rye — 1908. 

Photo  by  Johnston. 

but  the  exten-ive  grain  fanner  gives  little  or  no 
thought  to  the  building  up  of  a  productive  farm 
for  future  generations.  lie  often  expects  his 
children  to  enter  the  professions  or  move  to  some 
other  country  for  their  livelihood.  AVitli  the 
practice  of  growing  a  single  crop  year  after  year 


74  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

continued  long  enough,  at  the  same  time  adding 
nothing  in  plant  food,  there  are  few  soils  upon 
which,  sooner  or  later,  farming  will  not  become 
unprofitable.  Confining  the  soil  to  one  crop  in- 
duces the  accumulation  of  insects  and  plant  dis- 
eases, which  are  peculiar  to  that  crop,  and  when 


Plate  X.     Government  Farm,  Cheyenne— 1908. 

the  devastation  arrives  it  hits  quick  and  hard. 
When  grain  farming  is  the  principle  aim  in  any 
region,  the  best  practice  in  addition  to  the  resting 
of  the  soil  alternate  seasons,  is  to  adopt  a  system 
of  crop  rotation  which  will  add  fertility. 

ROTATION  OP  Rotation  of  crops  is  not  so  necessary  where 
THEORY*1*  'ail(^  *s  summer  tilled  every  other  year  as  it  is  to 
FARMER  keep  up  soil  fertility  on  lands  that  produce  an- 

nual crops.  However,  .a  regular  system  of  rota- 
tion will  pay  on  all  dry  farms.  The  principle 
aim  in  a  rotation  for  arid  lands,  is  to  keep  up 
the  supply  of  available  nitrogen.  This  is  done 
by  the  use  of  legumes  which,  through  the  action 


ARID    AGKICULTURE.  75 

<»f  the  bacteria  on  their  roots,  gather  nitrogen 
from  the  air.  Grain,  peas  or  potatoes  may  be 
grown  as  the  first  crop  after  breaking  the  sod. 
If  grain  is  the  principal  crop  produced,  the  soil 
should  be  improved  by  raising  a  crop  of  peas, 
beans,  vetches  or  alfalfa.  Peas  may  be  grown 
and  plowed  under  to  add  vegetable  matter.  Al- 
falfa continually  enriches  the  soil  in  nitrogen 
and  at  the  same  time  produces  profitable  crops 
where  ever  the  conditions  are  favorable.  Where 
alfalfa  is  easily  grown  it  may  be  plowed  up  at 
the  end  of  three,  four  or  five  years,  but  if  dim- 
cult  to  get  a  stand  and  a  good  field  is  secured,  the 
farmer  would  be  reluctant  to  plow  his  alfalfa  so 
long  as  it  is  giving  him  good  results.  It  usually 
begins  to  deteriorate  after  seven  or  eight  years. 
This  is  due  to  wrong  management.  Alfalfa 
rightly  managed,  in  some  parts  of  the  world  has 
stood  the  test  of  time  not  8  years  but  180  years 
or  more.  Each  farmer  must  work  out  his  own 
- \>tem  of  rotation  which  is  applicable  to  his  con- 
ditions, but  these  suggestions  will  be  valuable  to 
him. 

FERTILIZING  Arid  soils  are  so  rich  in  mineral  elements  of 

THE  son.  fertility  which  are  made  available  by  thorough 
systems  of  tillage,  that  the  use  of  complete  fer- 
tilizers has  not  become  a  question  of  importance. 
These  soils  are  generally  poor  in  nitrogen  and 
decaying  vegetable  matter,  and  adding  these 
tilings  always  brings  important  increase  in  yield. 


76  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

One  of  the  very  best  methods  of  adding  nitrogen 
and  vegetable  matter  is  green  manuring  with 
legumes.  Plowing  under  such  green  crop  puts 
into  the  soil  a  quickly-decaying  supply  of  vege- 
tation and  the  legumes  gather  much  nitrogen 
from  the  air  which  they  make  available  to  other 
crops.  There  are  some  places  where  the  use  of 
nitrate  of  soda  gives  good  results.  A  system 
which  enables  the  farmer  to  return  the  crop  to 
the  soil  in  the  form  of  manure  cannot  be  too 
strongly  recommended.  Raising  a  crop  of  feed 
which  is  used  by  the  animals  harvesting  it  them- 
selves in  the  field,  like  pasturing  to  fatten  on 
peas,  both  returns  the  manure  and  spreads  it. 
Where  manure  accumulates  in  the  feed  lot  or 
barn  it  should  always  be  applied  to  the  land,  and 
a  manure  spreader  is  becoming  a  necessary  im- 
plement on  all  modern  farms.  The  sooner  ma- 
nure can  be  spread  on  the  land  after  it  is  made 
the  better  the  results  to  soil  and  crops. 


Part  III. 


IRRIGATION  FARMING. 

Here  mountain  peaks  that  reach  the  ski/ — 

Clear  rivers  that  go  flowing  by. 

In  "forty-seven"  Utah  was  first 

To  give  soil  drink  to  quench  its  thirst. 

As  from  the  snoics  the  icater  //o//-.v 

The  deserts  must  ''bloom  as  the  rose." 

Sri,  nee  'iinl  art  go  hand  in  hand 

To  gladden  our  hearts  and  reclaim  the  land. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


IRRIGATION  FARMING. 

The   country    is    dry    and   the   people    are   the   most 
sober  and  earnest  users  of  water  to  be  found  anywhere, 

SIZE  OP  The  small  boy  eats  too  manv  green  apples 

IRRIGATED  .  _c  •  1,1 

FARM  just  to  keep  them  from  going  to  waste,  and  the 

farmer  acquires  too  much  land  just  because  he 
wants  the  earth.  The  relation  between  the  size 
of  a  farm  and  its  economical  working  and  man- 
agement has  not  been  given  the  attention  it  de- 
serves. Under  humid  conditions  a  man  could 
hold  much  land  without  feeling  any  especially 
baneful  effects.  Under  irrigation  the  whole 
problem  is  changed.  In  the  West,  land  is  abund- 
ant, water  is  scarce;  land  is  cheap,  water  is  ex- 
pensive. Investments  in  water  rights  are  too 
valuable  to  lie  idle.  The  farmer  has  less  time  to 
do  things  and  get  them,  done  in  season.  Inten- 
sive culture  characterizes  irrigation  agriculture. 
When  a  crop  needs  irrigating,  the  need  is  urgent. 
It  cannot  be  put  off  for  the  whole  crop  and  the 
margin  of  time  may  be  too  small  to  make  it  prof- 
itable to  put  off  farm  operations  on  any  part  of 
the-  field.  Maximum  returns  arc  mily  made  on 
small  field-;,  well  tilled  and  irrigated.  A  farmer 
may  be  self-supporting  on  ten  to  twenty  acre-. 
lie  finds  all  he  can  attend  to  on  forty  acres  to 
-ixty  acres  and  generally  has  too  much  land  if  he 


80  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

tries  to  farm  more  than  eighty  acres.  This  will 
depend  largely  on  the  kind  of  crop  raised.  If  in- 
tensive cropping  is  done  with  sugar  beets  or 
potatoes  in  proper  rotation  the  small  farm  pays 
best.  If  the  land  is  all  in  alfalfa  and  pasture, 
larger  areas  can  be  managed. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  a  great  majority  of  new 
comers  to  the  West  buy  at  the  start  from  two  to 
ten  times  as  much  land  and  water  right  as  they 
should. 


There    are    many    specialties    in    irrigation 
FARMING  farming.     Raising  crops  for  sale  is  pure  farm- 

ing. This  kind  of  fanning  requires  special 
knowledge  of  the  subject  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
soil  fertility,  and  practice  culture  suitable  to  the 
crop  produced. 

Mixed  farming  is  surer  —  requires  more  gen- 
eral and  less  special  knowledge,  helps  in  the 
economy  of  living,  diversifies  the  farmer's  inter- 
ests, keeps  up  soil  fertility  and  makes  one  thing 
pay  expenses  while  another  may  build  a  bigger 
bank  account.  The  products  from  poultry,  cows 
and  pigs  distribute  the  money  income  thru  the 
year,  and  make  it  less  necessary  to  borrow  money 
at  the  bank,  at  interest,  to  pay  expenses  until 
crops  may  be  sold.  Garden  and  animal  products 
secured  with  home  labor  save  important  items  of 
cash  outlay  in  the  household  expenses.  There 
may  be  more  or  less  pasture  or  range  to  use 
which  will  decrease  the  expense  of  keeping  stock. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  81 

The  general  farmer  will   succeed   better  if  he 
keeps  stock  and  markets  his  crops  on  four  feet. 

CULTURE  Our  soil  cult"1'*?  directions  for  dr     farmin 


pertain  as  well  to  irrigation,  except  the  summer- 
fallow.    which   is   unnecessary,   with   plenty  of 
water  to  be   applied  when  and  where  needed. 
With  water  and  advanced  knowledge  of  how  to 
maintain  soil  fertility,  there  is  no  need  of  letting 
any  land  rest  from  crop  production.      Soil  cul- 
ture needs  to  be  given  careful  and  intelligent 
consideration    and     special     systems   are   being- 
worked   out   for   the   separate   intensive   crop?. 
Plowing  need  not  be  done  so  deep  at  first  and  on 
some  soils  shallow  plowing  may  give  better  re- 
sults than  deep  plowing.      More  attention  needs 
to  be  given  to  leveling  and  smoothing  the  land 
where  irrigation  is  practiced.       The  right  kind 
of  land  preparation  is  a  permanent  improvement 
which  pays  from  the  first  l>ecause  it  saves  much 
future  expense  and  trouble.      Irrigation  farming 
is  a  "new  agriculture''  in  the  We<t,  and  a  man 
needs  to  know  it  in  order  to  meet  with  the  suc- 
cess which  should  crown  his  efforts.        On  the 
same  soil<   and   under  the   same   conditions  the 
man   who  knows  how  will  get  fifty  bushels  of 
wheat  while  the  one  who  does  not  will  get  twenty- 
five  bushels.      "Right  culture  will  give  one  man 
300  sacks  of  potatoes  per  acre  and  \\Tonir  culture 
another  man  r>0  sacks  per  acre.      There  is  a  con- 
siderable profit  to  the  man  who  o-eN  300  sacks  of 


82  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

potatoes  if  he  uses  $40.00  expense  per  acre  to 
raise  the  crops,  over  the  man  who  gets  50  sacks 
by  an  expense  of  $15.00  per  acre.  One  man  nets 
$185.00  per  acre  and  the  other  makes  $22.50 
per  acre.  The  man  with  the  large  yield  proba- 
bly works  only  a  forty-acre  farm,  and  from 
twenty  acres  of  it  in  potatoes  banks  $3,700.00 
for  that  crop.  The  second  man  is  probably  try- 
ing to  farm  eighty  acres,  and  from  forty  acres  in 
potatoes  he  banks  $900.00.  The  little  farm  well 
tilled  has  brought  its  owner  ov*»r  four  hundred 
per  cent,  the  largest  net  income.  The  point 
made  is  that  good  tillage  for  irrigation  means 
thorough  tillage  and  special  systems  of  soil  and 
crop  management  to  produce  the  best  returns. 

IRRIGATION  Fertility  is  measured  bv  the  power  of  soil  to 

AND   SOIL  ,  .  ,  .    , 

FERTILITY  produce  crops.  As  we  have  shown,  moisture  is 
an  essential  element  of  fertility.  Other  ele- 
ments are  nitrogen  and  minerals  which  are  direct 
plant  foods.  In  much  of  the  irrigated  region 
the  waters  used  contain  large  amounts  of  dis- 
solved fertilizing  elements.  It  has  been  shown 
that  waters  which  contain  much  silt  carry  with 
them  large  amounts  of  dissolved  plant  foods. 
Studies  of  the  waters  used  in  irrigation  from  the 
Hio  Grande  River  showed  that  where  water  was 
used  to  the  depth  of  one  foot  it  deposited  955 
pounds  of  potassium,  58  pounds  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and  53  pounds  of  nitrogen  to  each  acre. 
This  would  be  a  sufficient  supply  of  nitrogen  for 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  83 

more  than  thirty  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre, 
enough  phosphoric  acid  for  thirty  bushels  per 
acre,  and  enough  potassium  to  last  for  thirty 
years,  if  as  much  wheat  was  raised  on  the  land 
each  year.  Such  large  amounts  of  soil  fertility 
are  unusual,  however,  but  even  our  clear  waters 
from  mountain  streams  carry  with  them  a  con- 
-iderable  amount  of  silt  and  plant  food  in  the 
late  spring  and  early  summer.  Under  irrigation 
such  large  annual  crops  are  taken  off  the  soil  that 
the  subject  of  available  plant  food  becomes  an 
important  one.  Our  soils  will  wear  out  unless 
a  good  farm  practice  is  inaugurated  which  will 
keep  them  productive.  With  a  proper  system  of 
rotation  and  cropping,  adding  plant  food  to  the 
soil  in  the  form  of  barnyard  manure,  the  waste 
of  feed  pens,  gr een  manure  and  growing  of  legu- 
minous crops  will  keep  the  soils  always  richly 
productive.  Only  in  special  locations  or  with 
special  crops  will  the  use  of  any  artificial  fertil- 
izer be  found  advisable. 

IRRIGATION  There  has  been  much  useless  alarm  about  al- 

kali. Our  soils  are  very  rich  in  soluble  salts 
and  in  places  these  accumulate  to  such  an  extent 
that  they  destroy  productiveness.  The  alkali 
salts  are  dissolved  by  water,  and  where  there  is 
not  good  drainage  below,  this  water  evaporating 
again  from  the  surface,  leaves  the  alkali  behind 
as  a  white  incrustation  where  it  is  most  detri- 
mental to  plants.  In  nearly  all  cases  the  alkali 


84  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

accumulation  is  the  result  of  bad  management, 
generally  of  over-irrigation  or  of  continuously 
leaving  the  water  running  on  the  soil.  In  many 
parts  of  the  West  where  the  native  sod  is  irri- 
gated for  the  production  of  hay,  the  water  is  al- 
lowed to  run  for  weeks  or  months  over  the  same 
land,  and  such  irrigation  is  apt  to  produce  bad 
results.  Some  irrigation  waters  contain  large 
amounts  of  alkali  salts  which  are  deposited  with 
the  water  applied. 

EPPECTS  OP  There  are  two  kinds  of  alkali  which   are 

found  in  different  sections  of  the  arid  region.  In 
the  mountain  states  where  the  climate  is  cool,  the 
white  alkali  predominates.  White  alkali  is  a 
mixture  of  the  sulphates  and  chlorides  of  soda 
and  magnesia.  In  the  warmer  regions  the  alkali 
is  composed  of  carbonate  of  soda  and  is  called 
black  alkali.  One-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  black 
alkali  will  prevent  the  growth  of  useful  plants 
on  the  soil,  while  some  crops  will  stand  as  much 
as  one  per  cent,  of  white  alkali  salts  in  the  sur- 
face soil.  These  alkali  salts  in  small  amount 
are  important  aids  in  the  fertility  of  the  land. 
They  make  plants  grow  faster  and  better  than 
where  they  are  not  present.  The  black  alkali 
destroys  the  soil  tilth,  puddling  it  and  making- 
it  dark  in  color.  The  principal  detrimental 
effect  of  white  alkali  seems  to  be  that  it  retards 
or  prevents  the  germination  of  seed.  If  the  salts 
can  be  diluted  or  washed  out  before  planting  and 


AKID    AGRICULTURE. 


85 


REMEDIES 
FOB    ALKALI 
SOIL 


CROPS   FOB 

ALKALI 
SOILS 


a  good  stand  of  plants  obtained  from  the  seed, 
the  crop  may  grow  to  maturity  and  make  a  good 
yield. 

The  black  alkalies  of  California  have  been 
corrected  by  changing  them  into  white  alkali 
which  is  less  detrimental.  This  is  done  by  add- 
ing considerable  quantities  of  gypsum  or  land 
plaster.  Land  plaster  is  sulphate  of  lime.  When 
this  comes  in  contact  with  carbonate  of  soda 
there  is  a  chemical  change  and  the  carbonate  of 
soda  becomes  sulphate  of  soda,  and  the  sulphate 
of  lime  becomes  carbonate  of  lime  or  common 
lime  stone.  The  remedy  for  white  alkali  is  to 
provide  proper  drainage  and  wash  the  salts  out 
of  the  soil  with  irrigation  water.  The  worst 
alkali  soils  may  be  made  productive  in  this  way. 

There  are  a  few  crops  which  will  thrive  in 
the  presence  of  much  white  alkali.  The  princi- 
pal one  is  the  sugar  beet.  If  the  salts  can  be 
diluted  by  irrigation  before  the  seed  is  planted 
so  there  is  no  serious  retardation  of  germination, 
sugar  beets  will  make  good  crops  on  strong  alkali 
soil.  Another  useful  plant  to  grow  in  places 
which  would  otherwise  be  waste,  is  the  English 
or  Dwarf  Rape  for  soiling  and  pasture.  One 
of  the  best  plants  to  grow  in  such  places  either 
for  forage  or  to  improve  the  soil  in  vegetable 
mold  is  the  white  sweet  clover.  There  is  no 
need  of  leaving  the  alkali  places  as  unproductive 
and  unsightly  wastes. 


86 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


IRRIGATION 
OF   FARM 
AND   GARDEN 
CROPS 


TIME   TO 
IRRIGATE 


Suggestions  about  the  irrigation  of  different 
crops  will  be  found  in  the  chapters  dealing  with 
culture  of  these  crops  in  another  part  of  this  book 
and  the  methods  of  irrigation  for  different  soils 
and  crops  are  discussed  in  chapter  7.  Different 
crops  and  each  kind  of  soil  requires  particular 
treatment  and  general  rules  are  only  of  value  in 
so  far  as  they  throw  light  on  the  underlying 
principles  which  may  be  made  use  of  by  the  in- 
dividual farmer  who  understands  them  and  their 
application. 

As  a  broad  general  statement,  we  believe  the 
time  to  irrigate  is  when  there  is  no  crop  growing. 
Nearly  all  crops  should  be  irrigated  before  they 
are  planted.  The  soil  should  be  put  in  the  best 
possible  state  of  tilth  and  stored  with  enough 
moisture,  at  least  to  germinate  the  seed  and  sup- 
ply the  early  growth  of  the  plants.  Potato  soil 
should  be  irrigated  in  the  spring  before  it  is 
plowed.  Some  crops,  like  potatoes  and  sugar 
beets,  require  the  most  moisture  in  the  later  part 
of  the  season.  Wheat  should  be  irrigated  most 
during  the  middle  part  of  the  time  of  its  growth. 
To  be  on  the  safe  side,  barley  should  be  irrigated 
when  quite  young.  These  things  show  the  vari- 
ation which  must  be  practiced  to  produce  the  best 
results  and  point  to  the  importance  of  the  farmer 
looking  up  the  culture  for  each  crop  he  expects 
to  raise.  Some  few  crops,  like  onions,  should 
be  flood  irrigated.  Other  crops  give  best  results 


bcc 

c^ 
02 

h 

O 


88 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


if  water  is  never  allowed  to  touch  the  crowns  of 
the  plant.  Some  crops  should  not  he  irrigated 
at  certain  stages  of  growth  unless  absolutely 
necessary  to  save  them.  Experience  tells  the 
farmer  when  his  crop  is  suffering  for  water  and 
no  general  rule  can  he  laid  down.  Short  season 
crops  may  be  ripened  early  by  keeping  water 


/  ^ 

'&T-    J 


Plate  XIII.     Hanover  Canal  in  Winter. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


89 


"WINTER 
IRRIGATION 


away.     Often   late    irrigations   are   responsible 
for  injury  to  the  immature  crop  by  frost. 

Over  much  of  the  arid  region  there  is  possi- 
bility  of  running  water  on  to  the  soil  in  the  win- 
ter season  and  often  sufficient  moisture  may  be 
stored  for  the  production  of  most  excellent  crops 
the  following  season.  On  some  farms  in  the 
West,  even  during  freezing  weather,  the  water 
supply  from  springs  or  ditches  may  be  run  on 
the  land  and  stored,  either  as  moisture  in  the  soil 
or  as  ice  on  the  surface.  Using  the  water  in  this 
way  in  the  winter  and  the  same  Avater  for  irri- 
gating additional  land  in  the  summer  makes  a 
small  water  supply  cover  double  the  amount  of 
land. 


SEED 

PLANTING 

FOR 

IRRIGATED 

CROPS 


Everything  the  farmer  can  do  to  make  the 
application  of  water  to  his  crop  and  soil  more 
efficient,  should  be  done.  When  either  flood  irri- 
gation or  irrigation  by  furrows  is  practiced,  the 
crop  should  be  drilled  with  the  slope  of  the  land 
so  the  water  is  more  rapidly  spread  by  following 
the  furrows.  There  is  one  form  of  drill  that  we 
would  recommend  irrigation  farmers  to  avoid. 
This  is  the  single  disc  drill.  The  single  discs 
are  set  opposite  ways  each  side  of  the  center  and 
throw  the  soil  in  opposite  directions.  This 
makes  ridges  of  soil  which  interfere  with  spread- 
ing the  water  in  irrigation.  In  small  fields 
where  it  is  desired  to  avoid  back  furrows  or  dead 


90 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


furrows  the  two-way  plow  will  be  found  of  ad- 
vantage. This  implement  is  a  double  plow 
which  swings  on  a  pivot  and  can  be  changed 
at  the  end  of  each  furrow  so  the  land  may  be 
plowed  from  one  side  to  the  other  without  leav- 
ing any  ridges  and  with  the  least  amount  of  turn- 
ing and  tramping  of  soil  by  the  team.  We  rec- 
ommend the  use  of  the  four  or  eight-horse  leveler 
which  may  be  run  over  the  ground  both  ways 
after  every  plowing.  Such  leveling  of  the  soil 
saves  much  work  in  the  distribution  of  water. 


AMOUNT   OP 

•WATER 

REQUIRED 


On  new  land  where  the  sub-soil  is  almost  in- 
variably dry,  much  water  will  be  needed  the  first 
two  seasons  to  moisten  this  sub-soil  or  fill  it  with 
the  capillary  or  film  moisture,  which  surrounds 
the  soil  particles.  Much  of  this  moisture  will  bo 
held  from  year  to  year  and  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  apply  such  large  amounts  in  irrigation. 
The  total  amount  of  water  to  give  the  best  results 
on  different  soils  and  different  crops,  varies 
greatly.  On  light  sandy  bottom  soils  with  gravel 
underneath,  farmers  sometimes  use  from  six  to 
eight  feet  deep  of  water  during  the  season.  A 
flood  irrigation  cannot  be  made  with  less  than 
four  to  six  inches  at  a  single  application.  Usu- 
ally a  thorough  flood  irrigation  will  require  from 
nine  to  eleven  inches  deep  of  water  over  the  sur- 
face. This  does  not  mean  that  enough  water 
must  run  on  to  the  land  to  stand  to  this  depth, 
but  that  the  amount  soaked  into  the  soil  or  run 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  91 

off  as  waste  will  total  enough  to  reach  the  depth 
indicated  if  it  all  remained  on  the  surface.  The 
irrigation  laws  of  the  arid  states  generally  pro- 
vide that  the  limit  of  a  water  right  shall  be  one 
cubic  foot  per  second  continuous  flow  for  from 
seventy  acres  to  one  hundred  acres  of  land.  A> 
a  general  rule,  it  is  thought  that  enough  water 
to  cover  the  land  to  a  depth  of  two  feet  is  a  suffi- 
cient average  for  Western  crops.  We  are  learn- 
ing more  all  the  time  about  the  economic  use  of 
water. 

To  do  effectual  irrigating  the  farmer  needs  a 
good  sized  head  of  water.  A  very  small  stream 
soaks  away  too  fast  and  cannot  be  spread  over 
sufficient  land.  On  land  which  lies  well  for  irri- 
gation an  experienced  irrigator  can  handle  a 
head  of  from  two  to  three  cubic  feet  per  second. 
If  he  only  has  a  water  right  for  eighty  acres  of 
one  cubic  foot  per  second,  it  usually  pays  to 
rotate  in  the  use  of  water  with  a  neigh- 
bor in  order  to  do  his  irrigating  in  the 
quickest  and  most  efficient  manner.  Many 
western  irrigators  use  too  much  water  and 
too  little  cultivation.  Many  injure  their  crops 
and  soils  by  allowing  the  water  to  run  too  long 
on  one  place,  drowning  the  plants  and  alkalizing 
the  soil.  A  quick  application  of  water  which 
thoroughly  soaks  the  land  and  then  removing  it, 
to  give  the  soil  opportunity  to  become  aerated 
again,  is  best. 


92  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


In  the  arid  region  systems  of  irrigation  and 

*    OP         null 
PLANTS 


cultivation  which   induce  plants  to  send  their 


roots  deep  into  the  soil  are  important.  Deeply 
rooted  plants  are  not  so  subject  to  drouth  and 
find  a  comparatively  large  soil  pasture  from 
which  to  gather  moisture  and  plant  food.  Deep 
and  continuous  cultivation  from  the  time  the 
plant  is  started  until  the  crop  has  become  thor- 
oughly established,  will  do  much  to  secure  deep 
rooting.  This  is  important  in  orchards  and  tree 
plantations.  The  cultivation  must  be  continu- 
ous, however,  for  if  left  for  a  long  enough  season 
of  growth  most  of  the  plant  roots  will  be  thrown 
into  the  surface  soil,  after  which  cultivation 
would  so  severely  prune  the  roots  as  to  set  back 
the  growth  and  injure  the  plants.  Light  or  su- 
perficial irrigation  which  simply  puts  enough 
moisture  into  the  soil  to  wet  the  surface  induces 
plants  to  throw  out  surface  roots  instead 
of  those  which  should  go  deeper  into  the  sub-soil. 
It  also  starts  evaporation  from  the  surface  which 
causes  loss  of  water.  Deep  and  thorough  irriga- 
tion causes  deep  rooting. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


GROWTH  ] 
METHODS 


LOCAL 
METHODS 


METHODS  OF  IRRIGATION, 

When  it  comes  to  our  irrigation  practice  we  are  yet 
in  the  cut-and-try  period  of  learning-  how. 

The  easiest  and  crudest  methods  were 
adopted  in  the  earlier  days  of  irrigation.  In 
sections  of  India  and  Egypt,  which  are  thought 
to  be  the  oldest  among  irrigated  countries,  the 
practice  of  irrigation  has  remained  almost  the 
s>ame  for  centuries.  Primitive  appliances  are 
still  in  use,  such  as  buckets  on  sweeps,  and  other 
simple  animal-power  machines  for  lifting  water 
from  the  streams  or  wells  to  the  height  of  the 
crop  land.  In  contrast  with  this  is  the  rapid 
development  of  irrigation  practice  in  the  West- 
ern States.  The  beginning  of  irrigation  in  this 
country  was  in  1847,  when  the  Mormons  made 
the  great  experiment  at  Salt  Lake  City  little 
more  than  a  half  century  ago.  Since  then  de- 
velopment and  improvement  have  been  rapid, 
though  many  reverses  were  met  with  by  the 
pioneers.  Xow,  new  methods  are  proving  so 
superior  to  the  old,  that  the  farmer  who  would 
make  the  most  of  his  land  must  keep  abreast  of 
the  times  and  adopt  the  more  progressive  ideas. 

Many  localities  are  characterized  by  some 
general  method  of  irrigation.  Sometimes  this 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


THE 
IRRIGATOR'S 

PROBLEM 


WILD 
FLOODING 


is  a  good  method  for  the  local  conditions  and 
sometimes  not.  Usually  the  pioneer  has  marked 
out  his  own  system  without  help.  Those  who 
come  at  a  later  date  take  up  the  local  practice 
and  retain  it,  even  though  they  may  see  other 
localities  forging  ahead  of  them. 

Crops  require  water  to  grow  or  even  to  re- 
main alive.  The  irrigator  with  a  reliable  and 
sufficient  water  supply  has  a  great  advantage 
over  every  other  agriculturist.  He  has  it  within 
his  power  to  govern  the  application  of  water  to 
his  fields,  to  apply  it  when  and  where  he  wishes 
and  in  the  quantity  he  thinks  best.  These  ad- 
vantages bring  with  them  the  necessity  of 
learning  how  to  make  the  most  profitable 
use  of  the  water  supply.  The  problem  of 
the  irrigator  is  to  apply  water  in  the  right  place 
at  the  right  time,  in  quantities  that  will  give  the 
best  results,  and  by  the  most  efficient  and  eco- 
nomical methods.  Local  conditions  and  the  kind 
of  crop  grown  should  determine  the  method  most 
applicable.  Changes  in  methods  are  forced  by 
increase  in  value  of  land  and  water ;  the  inten- 
sive system  taking  the  place  of  the  extensive. 

This  is  the  natural  and  primitive  method  of 
applying  water  to  crops.  In  its  simplest  form 
it  is  nothing  more  than  a  diversion  of  the  waters 
of  a  stream  to  the  land  to  be  irrigated,  leaving 
the  laws  of  nature  in  charge  without  further  aid 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  95 

from  man.  Many  native,  or  wild,  hay  mead- 
ows are  irrigated  in  this  way  with  little  super- 
vision other  than  turning  on  the  water  in  the 
Spring  and  turning  it  off  again  a  week  or  so  be- 
fore harvest  time.  The  consequence  is  usually 


Plate  XIV.     Rock  River,  with  Irrigated  Meadows. 

Photo  by  Stimson. 


that  the  meadow  is  continually  under  water  to  a 
varying  depth  during  the  growing  season.  Only 
the  Avater-loviiig  or  swamp  grasses,  and  the 
rushes  and  sedges,  survive  such  treatment.  The 
finer  native  grasses,  as  the  wheat  grasses,  are 
rapidly  killed  out.  As  the  coarse  grasses  thrive, 
and  give  comparatively  good  yields,  the  practice 


06  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

is  in  places  retained,  chiefly  among  stockmen 
with  only  incidental  interests  in  farming  and  on 
lands  of  comparatively  small  value.  As  lands 
increase  in  value  and  methods  improve,  these 
meadows  are  re-seeded  to  finer  grasses  and  more 
care  is  used  in  irrigation.  If  the  practice  of 
wild  flooding  is  retained  at  all,  the  meadow  is 
left  under  water  for  short  periods  only,  of  a  few 
hours  to  a  week  in  duration. 

FLOODING  This  is  usually  known  simply  as  "flooding," 

and  is  perhaps  the  most  widely  used  of  all  meth- 
ods, especially  in  the  newer  irrigated  districts. 
The  ditches  are  most  commonly  run  parallel  to 
the  slope,  irrigation  taking  place  from  only  one 
side  of  the  ditch  and  extending  to  the  next  ditch. 
Sometimes  on  nearly  level  land  the  ditches  are 
run  down  the  steepest  slope,  irrigation  taking 
place  from  both  sides  and  extending  midway 
between  ditches.  Under  either  method  the  dis- 
tance between  laterals  should  not  be  over  200 
feet,  and  it  is  better  to  have  them  closer  together. 
Irrigation  is  easier  and  more  uniform  if  the  lat- 
erals are  only  50  to  100  feet  apart,  though,  of 
course,  it  is  then  necessary  to  have  more  field 
ditches,  each  one  of  which  takes  out  some  crop- 
growing  area  from  the  field.  For  valuable  crops, 
however,  the  advantage  lies  with  the  closer  spac- 
ing of  the  ditches.  These  field  ditches  may  be 
either  temporary  or  semi-permanent.  With  an- 
nual crops,  such  as  grains,  the  common  practice 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  97 

is  to  plow  and  harrow  over  them,  remaking  them 
each  year.  This  is  more  convenient,  as  the  drills 
and  other  farm  implements  can  then  be  driven 
across  the  field  without  interference-  hy  the 
ditches.  It  entails  the  extra  work  of  listing 
out  and  trimming  the  ditches  each  year.  Per- 
manent ditehes  should  also  be  repaired  and 
trimmed  each  year,  for  if  this  is  not  done,  they 
are  very  apt  to  become  irregular,  cut  out  in 
places,  and  stopped  up  with  vegetation  in  other 
places.  The  common  lister  and  the  V-shaped 
crowder  or  "Go-Devil,"  are  the  implements 
commonly  used  in  making  field  ditches.  The 
"A,'7  or  "Go-Devil,"  is  easy  to  construct,  and 
can  be  adjusted  to  make  various  widths  of 
ditches.  In  preparing  ground  for  this  kind  of 
irrigation  it  should  be  brought  to  a  uniform 
slope  by  means  of  scrapers  and  home-made  lev- 
olers,  or  some  other  levelling  device,  as  the  labor 
of  irrigating  each  year  will  depend  on  how  well 
this  has  been  done.  This  method  is  in  general 
suitable  for  medium  slopes,  soils  which  do  not 
bake  or  crust  badly  after  flooding,  grains,  mead- 
ows and  hay  crops,  and  for  the  extensive  system 
of  farming,  where  lands  are  not  of  great  value, 
and  such  crops  as  require  comparatively  little 
attention  are  raised.  While  in  first  outlay  the 
expense  necessary  is  not  large,  the  annual  cost 
for  irrigation  is  usually  excessive.  From  two 
to  five  acres  a  day  is  as  much  as  one  experienced 


THE 

FURROW 

METHOD 


98 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


irigator  can  thoroughly  water,  and  as  a  rule  the 
irrigation  is  more  uneven  than  with  other  meth- 
ods. This  causes  uneven  ripening  of  the  crops, 
which  is,  of  course,  a  disadvantage. 

There  has  been  a  demand  for  a  method  of 
irrigation  which  does  not  flood  the  "crown"  of  the 
crop  plants,  and  also  one  which  would  not  pro- 


Plate  XV.     Furrow  Irrigation. 


duce  baking  and  cracking  of  the  surface  soil,  so 
prevalent  with  heavy  clay  soils  under  the  flood- 
ing methods.  The  furrow  method  accomplishes 
this.  The  seepage  of  water  from  the  side  of  the 
small  ditch  or  furrow  outward  to  the  crop,  or 
"subbing,"  is  maintained.  Various  modifica- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  99 

tions  of  the  furrow  method  are  used  to  adapt  it 
to  different  conditions  of  soil,  crop,  or  head  of 
water  used.  For  grain  drilled  in  rows  eight 
inches  apart  it  is  usual  to  make  the  furrows  nar- 
row and  deep,  four  to  five  inches  wide,  three  to 
four  inches  deep,  and  twenty-four  to  thirty-two 
inches  apart.  For  alfalfa  and  other  drilled  hay 
crops  the  practice  is  much  the  same ;  the  furrows 
being  perhaps  a  little  Jarger.  The  head  ditches 
or  laterals  between  which  the  furrows  are  run 
should  not  be  over  200  feet  apart,  as  a  general 
rule.  That  is,  the  furrows  should  not  be  so  long 
that  the  water  will  not  run  through  from  end  to 
end  in  a  reasonable  time,  say  half  an  hour  to  an 
hour.  They  should  be  long  enough,  so  the  water 
will  have  time  to  "sub,"  or  seep  to  the  side  and 
dampen  all  the  soil  between  the  furrows.  The 
best  length  will  depend  on  the  soil,  the  slope,  the 
size  of,  and  distance  between  the  furrows.  It 
is  determined  by  the  individual  farmer  for  his 
own  conditions  without  great  difficulty. 

Root  crops  are  almost  always  found  to  do 
best  under  the  furrow  system.  Potatoes,  espe- 
cially, show  the  bad  effects  of  even  a  break  be- 
tween the  furrows,  and  consequent  flooding.  In 
this  case  the  furrows  are  made  quite  large,  the 
rows  being  ridged,  and  one  furrow  between  each 
two  rows.  Sometimes,  the  best  method  for  the 
crop  and  the  most  economical  of  Avater,  is  to 
irrigate  only  alternate  furrows,  as  with  sugar 


100  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

beets  and  potatoes.  The  land  cultivation,  thin- 
ning, etc.,  can  then  be  done  from  the  dry  rows 
more  conveniently.  The  furrow  system  is  com- 
ing to  be  widely  used  for  irrigating  orchards. 

The  method  of  dividing  the  irrigation 
streams  between  a  number  of  small  furrows 
varies  in  different  localities.  At  Twin  Falls, 
Idaho,  and  a  number  of  other  progressive  irriga- 
tion districts,  what  is  called  the  "lath  box"  sys- 
tem is  used.  In  this  system  boxes  are  made  by 
placing  four  strips  of  wood,  as  common  plaster- 
ing laths  cut  in  half,  together  and  nailing  them 
so  as  to  form  a  narrow,  square-section  box  which 
may  be  used  as  a  pipe  to  admit  water  through 
the  lateral  bank  to  the  upper  end  of  the  furrow. 
The  boxes  are  placed  in  the  ditch  banks  at  each 
furrow  and  are  easily  closed  by  a  stopper  formed 
of  a  short  piece  of  lath,  or  by  a  small  square  of 
tin  tacked  by  one  corner  over  the  opening.  The 
most  common  method  in  all  probability  is  that 
of  depending  on  the  irrigator  to  open  and  close 
the  head  of  the  furrows  by  means  of  a  shovel  and 
some  dirt.  Sometimes  a  flume  or  trough,  or 
pipe,  is  used  instead  of  laterals,  and  holes  at 
proper  distances,  easily  opened  or  closed,  serve 
to  regulate  the  flow  into  the  furrows.  For  val- 
uable land,  these  methods  are  proving  a  success, 
and  when  the  preparation  has  been  completed, 
the  actual  labor  of  irrigation  is  reduced  to  super- 
vision of  the  flow  in  furrows,  and  regulation  of 
the  little  head  gates. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  101 

This  is  simply  a  modified  flooding  method 
by  which  the  water  is  retained  at  some  depth  on 
the  land,  as  long  as  the  irrigator  thinks  best, 
instead  of  being  spread  out  by  hand  labor  while 
running,  as  in  flooding.  This  is  accomplished 
by  means  of  small  dikes  or  levees  thrown  up, 
either  in  rectangular,  or  square  form,  or  along 
contour  lines.  The  square  system  jmakes  the 
fields  take  on  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a 
gigantic  checker-board,  whence  the  name  given 
this  method.  The  check  system  is  best  suited  to 
land  having  very  little  slope.  On  practically 
level  ground  the  banks  may  be  placed  far  apart. 
In  parts  of  Arizona  and  ISTew  Mexico  on  such 
land  they  may  be  as  much  as  a  half  mile  apart, 
thus  inclosing  a  quarter  section  in  a  single 
"check.7'  But  in  general  the  "checks"  or 
squares  are  very  much  smaller,  often  containing 
less  than  a  quarter  acre.  The  higher  and 
stronger  the  retaining  banks  are  made,  the 
greater  the  area  that  can  be  enclosed  in  a  check. 
For  crops  that  must  be  worked  with  horses  and 
machinery,  it  is  not  practical,  as  a  rule,  to  make 
the  banks  over  one  and  one-half  to  two  and  one- 
half  feet  high,  as  there  is  liable  to  be  damage  to 
farm  machinery  in  crossing  higher  banks.  If 
the  side  slopes  of  the  banks  are  made  slight,  too 
much  area  is  taken  from  the  land  that  could  oth- 
erwise be  cropped.  This  system  entails  a  large 
first  cost  and  is  also  subject  to  the  following  dis- 


102  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

advantages :  The  top  soil,  usually  the  best,  is  re- 
moved to  form  the  banks;  even  after  levelling, 
the  checks  usually  have  enough  slope  so  that  the 
water  stands  considerably  deeper  on  the  lower 
end  of  check  than  on  the  upper,  which  produces 
unevenness  in  the  crop,  some  getting  too  much 
and  some  too  little  water.  Considerable  area  is 
withdrawn  from  cultivation  by  the  levees;  it  is 
hard  to  cross  levees  with  heavy  machinery.  The 
great  advantage  is  in  the  ease  of  irrigating  and 
the  large  head  of  water  that  may  be  quickly  ap- 
plied and  thoroughly  controlled  by  the  irrigator. 
The  "contour  check"  method  differs  from  the 
rectangular  only  in  the  way  the  levees  are  made. 
In  this  system  surveys  are  made  of  level,  or 
"contour"  lines,  spaced  as  far  apart  as  it  is  prac- 
tical to  control  the  water  when  irrigating.  This 
system  may  be  used  on  steeper  slopes  than  the 
preceding,  in  which  case  the  checks  are  long  and 
narrow  and  usually  somewhat  curved  in  outline, 
following  the  natural  slope. 

NATURAL  This  is  a  method  that  applies  only  where  cer- 

tain  rather  unusual  conditions  exist.  These  are : 
First,  an  impervious  hardpan  or  rock  stratum  a 
short  distance  below  the  surface  and  parallel 
with  it.  Second,  a  shallow  bed  of  gravel  or 
coarse  sand  above  this,  through  which  water  can 
seep  easily  from  a  ditch  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
field.  Third,  a  rather  fine  soil  not  so  deep,  but 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  103 

that  the  water  from  the  saturated  gravel  bed  be- 
low may  be  drawn  up  to  within  a  few  inches  of 
the  surface,  and  not  so  shallow  as  to  he  unsuited 
to  cultivation  or  to  be  kept  too  moist  from  the 
supply  below.  So  many  requirements  have  to  be 
met  that  the  natural  conditions  for  the  use  of 
this  method  are  rarely  found,  and  the  system  is 
uncommon.  But  where  the  conditions  are  right 
perhaps  no  other  practice  is  so  advantageous  and 
cheap.  The  ground  does  not  have  to  be  so  accu- 
rately graded  as  in  other  methods — the  irriga- 
tion ditches  needed  are  only  the  main  laterals, 
made  deep  enoiigh  to  let  the  water  they  contain 
into  the  porous  bed  below — and  little  labor  for 
irrigation  is  required.  A  further  advantage  is 
that  level,  clean  culture  may  be  practiced. 
Xearly  all  the  advantages  of  the  most  expensive 
pipe  sub-irrigation  system  are  obtained,  and  al- 
most without  expense.  Soils  in  which  sub-soil 
is  filled  with  free  water  are  not  suitable  for  deep 
rooted  plants  like  alfalfa. 

SUB-IRBIGA-  This  is  the  most  expensive  and  at  the  same 

time  tne  most  economical  of  water  of  all  the 
irrigation  methods.  It  is  best,  when  putting  in 
a  system  of  this  kind  for  orchards  or  other  very 
valuable  crops,  to  get  the  services  of  a  compe- 
tent irrigation  engineer.  The  details  of  this 
method  are  usually  complicated  and  must  be 
worked  out  for  each  farm. 


104  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

THE  BASIN  This  is  a  flooding  system  used  almost  exclu- 

METKOD  sively  for  orchards.     It  is  practiced  more  in  Cal- 

ifornia, perhaps,  than  in  any  other  State,  though 
it  has  superseded  to  a  large  extent  the  "check" 
method,  which  it  very  closely  resembles.  The 
principal  difference  between  this  and  the  check 
method  of  irrigation  lies  in  the  size  of  the  checks, 
the  basin  containing  only  enough  ground  for  one 
tree,  while  the  check  method  used  in  orchards 
may  contain  ground  on  which  several  or  even  a 
great  many  trees  are  growing.  The  banks 
thrown  up  to  retain  the  water  in  the  basins  are 
usually  somewhat  better  constructed  and  more 
permanent  than  those  in  the  "check"  system. 
They  are  also  usually  much  lower ;  as  a  less  area 
is  irrigated  in  a  check.  In  some  instances  they 
are  made  so  low  fhat  a  cultivator  may  be  run 
across  them,  by  little  lifting,  without  much  dam- 
age to  either  the  machine  or  the  bank.  It  is 
commonly  thought  that,  especially  where  the 
weather  gets  very  hot,  it  is  injurious  to  allow 
water  to  stand  around  the  base  of  the  trunks  of 
fruit  trees.  Most  farmers  concur  in  the  opinion 
that  the  heating  of  water  in  the  basins  by  the 
sun  will  tend  to  scald  the  bark  of  the  trees  and 
that  it  may  even  produce  wilting  on  hot  days.  To 
obviate  this  condition,  usually  a  small  mound  is 
thrown  up  surrounding  the  trunk  of  the  tree  to 
prevent  the  water  coming  in  contact  with  it. 
When  this  is  done  the  water  is  applied  where  it 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  105 

is  most  needed,  that  is,  not  just  at  the  base  of 
the  tree,  but  some  little  distance  out  and  sur- 
rounding the  tree.  Under  this  area  are  the  small 
roots  that  absorb  water  and  feed  the  tree.  Un- 
it-- cultivation  is  practiced  in  the  basins,  where 
the  ground  contains  much  clay,  it  is  apt  to  bake 
badly,  and  crack.  These  cracks  may  even  ex- 
tend through  the  banks  and  the  basin  may  need 
some  attention  to  keep  it  from  leaking.  The 
main  objection  to  this  method  lies  in  the  yerv 
large  first  cost  of  preparing  the  land.  The  ac- 
tual labor  of  irrigating  is  very  small,  although  it 
is  necessary  to  let  out  the  water  from  one  basin 
when  it  has  stood  long  enough  and  turn  it  into 
the  next  one,  until  all  are  irrigated. 

METHODS  The  furrow  method,  or  one  of  the  sub-irriga- 

sorcs  ilon  methods,  is  best  suited  to  all  heavy  soils 

which  are  not  so  dense  thev  will  not  absorb 
water  readily,  as  there  is  more  crusting  of  the 
surface  and  cracking  when  they  are  flooded. 
With  the  furrow  methods  it  is  also  easy  to  mulch 
either  the  whole  surface,  or  that  part  lying  be- 
tween the  furrows.  Seepage  or  percolation 
through  the  soil  in  the  furrow  method  is  aided 
by  leaving  the  surface  of  the  furrow  rough,  with 
clods  in  it,  so  that  the  water  flows  down  slowly 
and  has  plenty  of  time  to  soak  to  the  roots  of  the 
plants. 


106 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


METHODS 
FOR  SANDY* 

SOILS 


On  sandy  soils,  and  especially  on  soils  that 
are  spotted  with  sandy  or  gravelly  places,  the 
flooding  methods  are  usually  more  satisfactory 
than  the  furrow  method.  It  is  sometimes  impos- 
sible to  run  a  small  stream  of  water  in  furrows 
through  a  loose  sandy  or  gravelly  soil,  as  it  sinks 
into  the  soil  almost  as  fast  as  it  can  be  turned 
into  the  furrow.  For  short  distances  this  may 
be  satisfactory,  but  in  general  it  is  best  on  such 
soils  to  use  a  large  head  of  water  and  flood  the 
ground  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  check  method 
of  flooding  makes  this  kind  of  ground  especially 
easv  to  work. 


METHODS 
FOR   STEEP 

ELOPES 


METHODS 
FOR   SLIGHT 
SLOPES 


The  contour  check  method  may  be  used  on 
steep  slopes.  When  the  checks  are  made  very 
narrow  011  this  kind  of  ground,  this  method  is 
called  terracing.  Furrows  may  be  also  used  on 
moderately  steep  slopes,  where  they  are  run  on 
grades  only  slightly  below  contour  lines.  Care 
must  be  taken  with  any  method  on  steep  ground, 
that  the  water  does  not  get  a  start  down  the  steep- 
est slope,  as  it  very  quickly  gathers  force  and 
volume  and  may  cut  the  ground  badly. 

For  very  level  ground  the  check  method  is 
often  found  most  advantageous.  For  slight 
slopes  the  furrow  method  has  some  important 
advantages  over  the  check.  Ground  sloping 
from  four  to  ten  feet  to  the  mile  can  be  easilv 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


107 


irrigated  by  the  check  method,  while  ground 
-loping  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  to  the  mile  is  usu- 
ally adapted  to  the  furrow  method. 


Plate  XVI.     The  Big  Horn  River  Is  a  Grand  Stream. 

Photo  by  Stimson. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


HOME-MADE 


IRRIGATION  APPLIANCES. 

The  effect  of  aridity  is  to  stimulate  the  thinking-  ma- 
chine. He  is  most  fortunate  who  can  readily  adapt  him- 
self to  his  environment. 

The  farmer  on  irrigated  land,  has  in  manv 

APPLIANCES  -,i  T          .     .  ,  ,        , 

cases,  either  to  adapt  implements  made  for  use 
in  humid  regions,  to  his  own  needs,  or  make  new 
ones  himself.  He  may  have  to  invent  imple- 
ments for  special  purposes.  More  home-made 
appliances  are  found  on  the  western  irrigated 
farms  than  anywhere  else.  Many  of  these  can 
be  made  quite  cheaply  and  will  serve  the  pur-- 
pose as  well  as  expensive  tools  bought  from  the 
manufacturers. 

SAGE  BRUSH  The  first  work  of  the  irrigator  who  has  just 

settled  on  raw  land  is  to  get  rid  of  the  sage  brush, 
grease-wood,  or  other  bushes  found  on  the  land. 
Sage  brush  is  not  a  deep  or  strong-rooted  plant. 
The  roots  of  grease-wood  are  large  and  very 
hard,  but  brittle.  When  the  brush  is  small  it  is 
easy  to  get  rid  of  it  by  plowing,  perhaps  putting 
on  extra  horses  to  pull  the  breaking  plow,  and 
following  to  pull  out  the  uprooted  brush  by  hand. 
Where  the  brush  is  larger  this  method  may  not 
do  and  one  has  to  buy  a  sage  brush  grubber, 
made  especially  for  the  purpose,  or  find  a  substi- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  109 

tute.  There  are  two  types  of  sage  brush  grub- 
bers on  the  market.  One  of  these  has  a  horizon- 
tal blade  so  fitted  on  the  frame  that  it  can  be  held 
some  two  or  three  inches  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  thus  cutting  off  the  sage  brush  at  its 
weakest  point.  A  common  road  grader  does 
good  work  where  the  brush  is  small,  by  merely 
scraping  it  off  the  surface.  The  other  type  of 
iiTiihber  has  teeth  which  catches  the  brush  as  the 
machine  is  drawn  along  and  pulls  it  out.  This 
is  a  modification  of  the  old  revolving  rake  and 
ihc  brush  is  dumped  by  tipping  the  machine 
over.  This  leaves  strips  of  unpulled  brush  so 
the  work  must  be  done  both  ways. 

For  moderate-sized  brush  an  expensive  im- 
plement is  not  necessary,  as  a  good  grubber  can 
he  made  of  a  discarded  railroad  iron.  A  straight 
rail  may  be  used,  but  it  is  better  to  bend  the  rail 
in  the  center,  so  when  horses  are  hitched  to  each 
end  it  will  drag  right  side  up,  the  front  flange 
catching,  breaking  off,  or  pulling  out  the  sage 
brush.  From  two  to  six  horses  on  each  end  of 
the  rail  will  be  found  necessary.  It  is  usually 
best  to  make  a  platform  back  of  the  rail  and 
weight  it  to  keep  the  rail  from  riding  over  the 
brush  or  prevent  a  straight  one  from  rolling. 
The  flat  bottom  of  the  rail  must  be  kept  down  to 
do  the  work.  Where  the  brush  is  not  too  heavy 
a  large  area  can  be  covered  in  a  day,  by  the  use 
of  this  device.  For  heavy  sage  brush,  where  the 
rail  cannot  he  used,  the  only  recourse  is  to  use 


110 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


BRUSH 

PLOWS 


DITCH- 
MAKING 
TOOLS 


the  mattock  or  grub-hoe  and  hand  labor.  With 
scattered  or  thin  brush  many  think  that  hand 
labor  is  the  cheapest  way  of  clearing  the  land. 

A  heavy  breaking  plow  is  used  with  four  to 
eight  horses  for  the  first  plowing  of  sage  brush 
or  grease-wood  land.  Where  many  roots  are  en- 
countered and  the  soil  is  hard  and  compact,  the 
draft  is  heavy  and  plenty  of  pulling  power  is  im- 
portant. Three  to  five  inches  in  depth  is  usu- 
ally found  best  for  breaking  such  ground  the 
first  year.  After  the  first  breaking  it  should 
again  be  plowed  deeper.  The  mold-board  plow 
is  the  best  for  sage  brush  soils,  but  a  good  disc 
will  tear  out  small  brush. 

Irrigation  ditches  arc  of  all  sizes,  and  many 
types  of  implements  are  needed  for  different  con- 
ditions. For  small  laterals  no  implement  is  bet- 
ter, perhaps,  than  the  common  lister.  The  or- 
dinary mold  board  plow  may  be  used  for  this 
purpose,  being  run  back  and  forth  and  throwing 
the  earth  away  from  the  center  of  the  ditch.  For 
a  slightly  larger  lateral  the  plow  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  an  "A"  or  "Go-Devil."  This  may  be 
home-made.  By  putting  hinges  on  one  side  and 
a  brace  on  the  inside,  the  "A"  may  be  adjusted 
to  different  widths  of  ditches.  For  larger  later- 
als and  small  canals,  the  "slip"  or  the  tongue 
scraper  and  the  common  grader  are  often  used. 
For  still  larger  canals  there  is  no  implement  that 
can  compare  with  the  Fresno  scraper. 


112 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


LEVELING 

IMPLEMENTS 


SMALL 

IRRIGATION 

TOOLS 


After  having  cleared  the  brush  from  the  land 
and  plowed  it,  the  next  question  is  leveling  the 
land,  or  rather  grading  it  so  that  it  is  of  a  uni- 
form slope,  suitable  for  irrigation.  For  land 
that  contains  many  small  humps  and  holes,  some 
type  of  grade  scraper  is  usually  best  for  leveling. 
Where  the  knolls  are  large  and  the  hollows  deep- 
er, a  Fresno  or  "slip,"  or  other  scraper,  may  be 
used,  according  to  the  distance  the  earth  must  be 
hauled  to  level  it  off.  The  finishing  touches 
should  be  made  by  the  home-made  leveler.  This 
is  a  large  frame  made  of  2x6  or  2x8  timbers, 
edges  down,  thoroughly  braced,  so  that  they 
will  drag  along  the  earth  from  the  higher 
places  and  will  deposit  it  in  the  lower  places. 
The  central  cross-piece  should  be  made  adjusta- 
ble by  means  of  a  lever,  so  that  it  may  be  lowered 
or  raised.  This,  as  well  as  the  other  cross-pieces, 
should  be  shod  with  iron.  The  adjustable  scraper 
can  be  made  to  take  off  quite  a  slice  from  a  high 
place,  as  the  whole  weight  of  the  machine  may  be 
made  to  rest  on  its  sharp  edge.  These  levelers 
may  be  made  16  feet  long  and  5  feet  wide  for 
four  horses,  or  24  feet  long  and  5  or  6  feet  wide, 
where  eight  horses  are  used. 

The  great  implement  used  in  the  flooding 
method  of  irrigation  is  the  common  shovel,  but 
there  is  a  difference  between  shovels.  The  best 
irrigation  shovel  is  one  made  strong  at  the  waist, 
with  a  sharp  point,  and  with  the  top  of  the  blade 


ARID    A<;RI<    I'LTURE.  1 1  3 

bent  <iver  so  that  a  rubber  boot  will  not  be  cut 
when  used  to  shove  it  in.  In  flooding  from 
Hel<l  ditches  seme  kind  of  a  lateral  dam  must  be 
used.  The  practice  of  damming  these  laterals 
by  means  of  earth  thrown  into  them  from  the 
sides  of  the  ditches,  is  not  to  be  recommended,  as 
it  is  apt  to  weaken  the  ditch  banks  and  soon 
makes  holes  in  the  farm.  The  canvas  dam  is 
easily  made  and  is  thoroughly  reliable.  A  piece 
of  canvas  as  wide,  at  least,  as  the  ditch  on  which 
it  is  to  be  used,  and  some  three  or  four  feet  long, 
should  be  tacked  to  a  2x-t  scantling,  or  small 
pole,  so  that  when  re-red  across  the  top  of  the 
ditch,  the  canvas  will  lie  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  up-stream.  A  little  earth  then  thrown  on 
the  lower  edge  to  hold  it  down,  will  make  a 
strong  dam.  Perhaps  no  appliance  is  more  es- 
senrial  than  the  canvas  dam.  Ten  or  twelve  ounce 
canvas  is  the  best  weight  to  use.  Semi-circular 
sheets  of  metal  attached  to  a  wooden  cross-piece 
are  also  used  for  this  purpose.  They  are  called 
tapoons,  and  in  use  the  edge  of  the  tapoon  is 
shoved  into  the  bed  of  the  ditch,  which  the  metal 
should  be  made  to  fit.  Gates  for  allowing  a  part 
<»f  the  water  t<>  continue  on  down  the  lateral  may 
be  oasilv  made  in  either  the  canvas  dam  or  the 
metal  tapoon.  In  this  way  the  irrigation  stream 
may  ho  readily  divided.  In  making  hanks  for 
the  check  method  of  irrigation,  the  ground  con- 
tained within  each  check  should  first  be  made  as 
level  as  possible,  by  means  of  a  blade,  or  other 


114  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

scraper,  the  earth  that  is  being  scraped  away 
being  left  at  about  the  location  of  the  bank.  This 
bank  can  then  be  shaped  up  by  a  "ridger,"  which 
is  the  reverse  of  a  home-made  "A,"  the  side  not 
being  allowed  to  meet  at  the  point  of  the  "A." 
This  instrument,  drawn  with  the  large  end  for- 
ward, shapes  and  straightens  the  bank.  The 
places  where  the  banks  meet  must  be  left  unmade 
and  these  can  afterward  be  filled  in  by  hand 
or  by  a  special  machine  made  for  this  purpose, 
which  is  simply  a  scraper  made  so  that  its  load 
can  be  easily  dumped  in  one  place.  For  furrowr 
irrigation,  a  home-made  instrument  called  a 
"marker,"  is  used  for  making  the  furrows.  It  is 
simply  a  few  4x6  timbers,  two  or  three  feet  long, 
bevelled  at  the  lower  edge  and  drawn  along  par- 
allel to  each  other,  being  held  the  proper  distance 
apart  by  a  strong  wooden  frame.  The  front  of 
the  furrowing  timbers  should  be  slanted  and 
shod  with  diamond-shaped  sheets  of  iron.  Fur- 
rows can  also  be  made  by  special  hoe  teeth  for  a 
common  cultivator.  This  leaves  the  furrows 
rough  and  loose.  The  furrows  for  beets  and  po- 
tatoes are  usually  made  with  a  simple  shovel 
plow,  with  or  without  wings,  or  with  a  small 
double  or  listing  plow. 

HEAD  GATES  Small  head  gates  are  necessary  for  each  main 

lateral  and  sometimes  a  larger  one  for  the  ditch 
bringing  the  water  to  the  individual  farm.  When 
water  is  plentiful  and  drain  ditches  are  provided 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  115 

tW  carrying  away  the  surplus,  these  gates  do  not 
have  to  be  very  carefully  made,  but  in  the  end  it 
always  pays  to  make  them  well  and  so  they  may 
l>r  easily  adjusted  to  allow  the  amount  of  water 
required  to  now  down  the  ditch.  For  permanent 
gates  on  laterals  heading  in  a  large  canal,  iron 
head  gates  clamped  to  enough  sewer  pipe  to  carry 
the  water  through  the  canal  bank  are  recom- 
mended, both  because  they  are  lasting  and 
when  once  placed,  there  is  less  danger  of 
a  washout,  which  may  cause  greater  dam- 
age or  delay  than  there  is  with  the  ordi- 
nary wooden  head  gate.  For  the  diversion  of 
water  into  the  different  laterals  on  the  farm, 
small  wooden  boxes  with  head-boards  running 
between  strips  of  wood  tacked  on  the  inside,  are 
sufficient.  Holes  should  be  drilled  through  the 
handle  of  the  gate  so  that  it  may  be  adjusted 
at  any  height  by  putting  in  a  wooden  pin  at  the 
proper  hole.  Sometimes  trouble  is  caused  by 
gates  not  thus  held  dropping  down  and  causing 
the  lateral  to  over-fill  and  flood  all  around  it. 

Where  the  grade  of  a  lateral  is  too  great  the 
water  \vill  soon  cut  in  deeply  and  the  result  is 
that  the  lateral  is  too  deep  for  easy  irrigation. 
Such  washed  out  ditches  are  unsightly  and  are 
objectionable  on  other  accounts.  To  keep  the 
water  from  running  too  swiftly  when  the  nat- 
ural grade  is  great,  drops  or  spill  boxes  are 
?ary.  These  are  simply  little  falls  made 


116 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


CULVERTS 


by  setting  boxes  into  the  canal.  They  should  be 
so  constructed  that  they  will  not  wash  out.  Cut^ 
ting  around  them  is  prevented  by  wing  walls  and 
boards  placed  vertically  to  keep  water  from 
starting  through  or  around  the  box.  A  small 
board  dam  or  apron,  placed  at  the  lower  edge, 
prevents  the  eddies  from  undermining  or  carry- 
ing away  the  structure. 

For  carrying  ditches  across  roads,  railroads, 
other  ditches,  and  the  like,  culverts  made  of  pipe, 
are  very  suitable.  Sometimes  old  boilers  may 
be  used  •  for  this  purpose,  but  usually  clay  or 
cement  sewer  pipes  are  found  preferable  as  they 
do  not  corrode.  They  should  be  carefully  placed 
in  line,  the  joints  cemented  and  the  earth  tamped 
around  them  until  solid.  Where  there  is  much 
alkali,  unglazed  clay  pipe  will  only  last  a  short 
time. 


SMALL 
FLUMES 


Often  it  is  necessary  to  cross  ditches  or  gul- 
leys  with  flumes.  These  may  be  made  either  of 
wood  or  metal.  In  wood  flumes  the  frame  work 
should  be  made  first,  the  trestles  on  which  they 
are  held  being  made  strong  enough  to  hold 
against  all  strains,  and  with  a  foundation  made 
secure  against  settling.  The  settling  of  a  flume 
in  one  or  twro  places  may  cause  leakage  of  the 
whole  amount  of  water  carried.  The  boards  of 
a  flume  usually  should  be  laid  lengthwise.  Sev- 
eral methods  of  closing  the  joints  are  practiced. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  11 7 

Sometimes  matched  lumber  is  used,  but  as  this 
is  expensive,  it  is  usually  more  economical  to  use 
rough,  but  straight  lumber  and  calk  the  joints 
with  cotton-waste  and  tar,  or  with  oakum.  If 
the  boards  fit  closely  when  dry,  the  swelling  of 
the  wood,  when  water  is  run  in  it,  should  still 
further  close  up  any  cracks.  Some  of  the  patent 
metal  flumes  are  found  advantageous  as  they  re- 
quire less  attention  to  prevent  leakage  than  the 
wooden  ones  and  also  present  a  better  appear- 
ance. They  cost  considerably  more  in  the  be- 
ginning, but  if  they  are  kept  painted  they  will 
last  almost  indefinitely. 

THE  FARM  Where  many  laterals  are  to  be  run  or  contour 

furrows  or  checks  are  to  be  made,  it  will  often  be 
found  advisable  for  the  farmer  to  get  a  cheap 
level  with  which  to  survey  them.  Anyone  can 
learn  to  use  these  instruments  without  much  dif- 
ficulty. It  will  save  considerable  expense  for 
surveyor's  fees.  As  the  instrument  is  used  only 
at  intervals,  several  farmers  can  buy  one  together 
and  get  sufficient  use  of  it  to  pay  them  well.  It 
is  also  a  very  useful  instrument  for  locating 
main  laterals  and  drain  ditches  and  in  leveling 
land,  grading  terraces,  or  for  a  number  of  uses 
that  come  up  on  the  farm. 


OF    THE    -TN/ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Part  IV. 


CROPS  AND  CROP  CULTURE. 

Where  once  VMS  but  the  short  grass  range 
There  now  has  come  a  wondrous  change. 
O'er  plateau,  valley,  on  the  plains 
Are  fields  of  green,  or  golden  grains. 
With  plow,  with  hoe,  urith  seed  to  soiv 
Flower,  fruit  and  vine  by  magic  grow. 
Our  hearts  content  with  heavy  yield 
Of  the  joy  of  soul  and  the  wealth  of  field. 


£ 

oo  !£ 


CHAPTER  IX. 


ALFALFA  IN 
WESTERN 

AGRICUL- 
TURE 


ALFALFA 

SEED 

CULTURE 


ALFALFA. 

All  flesh  is  grass  and  western  grass  is  flesh  par  ex- 
cellence. 

Alfalfa  has  been  and  is  the  making  of  the 
West.  Xo  other  plant  can  take  its  place  in  arid 
agriculture.  It  makes  the  richest  hay  and  is 
the  best  all-round  forage ;  is  best  adapted  to  cli- 
mate and  soils ;  it  solves  the  problem  of  soil  fer- 
tility and  maintenance.  Alfalfa  is  not  only  es- 
sential on  every  irrigated  farm,  but  it  is  a  drouth 
resistant  hay  crop  for  the  dry  farmer.  Its  value 
as  a  stock  food  has  given  it  fame,  not  only  in  the 
West,  but  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Alfalfa 
is  now  being  brought  into  almost  every  state  and 
introduced  into  every  country  in  the  world.  Its 
value  has  become  so  well  recognized  that  the  de- 
mand for  alfalfa  seed  far  exceeds  the  supply. 
This  makes  the  growing  of  alfalfa  for  seed  an 
important  new  industry  for  this  region  where 
seed  can  be  successfully  produced. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  production  of 
alfalfa  seed  has  simply  been  incidental.  When 
alfalfa  land  has  been  plowed  and  put  into  grain 
crops  the  plants  which  come  up  from  the  old 
rr<>\vii-  produce  seed.  When  the  grain  is 
threshed,  this  seed  is  separated  and  saved  and 


122  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

lias  furnished  a  considerable  portion  of  the  sup- 
ply. Very  few  have  planted  alfalfa  for  the  pur- 
pose of  producing  seed.  When  alfalfa  fields  gel 
old,  run  out,  and  the  plants  thin  so  that  they  do 
not  produce  sufficient  yield  of  hay,  it  is  the  com- 
mon practice  to  leave  them  for  seed.  Such  fields 
give  yields  of  from  two  to  seven  bushels  of  seed 
per  acre.  Old  plants  produce  small  amounts  of 
seed.  For  large  crops  young  and  vigorous  plants 
are  necessary.  There  are  three  secrets  in  suc- 
cessful alfalfa  seed  production.  First,  isolation 
of  the  plant ;  second,  young  and  vigorous  plants ; 
third,  favorable  conditions  of  growth. 


METHOD  or  Alfalfa  for  seed  should  not  be  sown  as  the 

PLANTING 
FOR  SEED 


PLAN-]  ordinary  hay  crop.      To  secure  plants  which  arc 


far  enough  apart  to  make  strong,  thrifty  growth  ; 
to  secure  proper  fertilization  of  the  flowers ;  to 
prevent  crowding;  to  favor  cultivation  and  irri- 
gation, seed  should  be  thinly  sown  in  rows  from 
two  and  one-half  to  three  and  one-half  feet  apart. 
The  method  recommended  is  to  take  off  the  shoes 
or  stop  up  the  holes  of  a  drill  to  make  the  rows  as 
wide  as  wanted,  and  then  plant  as  little  seed  as 
possible  (two  or  three  pounds  per  acre).  The 
small  amount  of  seed  may  be  mixed  with  ashes 
or  soil  to  help  spread  it  evenly.  When  the  plants 
come  up,  if  they  are  too  thick  in  the  row,  they 
may  be  spaced  with  a  hoe,  as  with  sugar  beets, 
or  when  very  small  may  be  harrowed  crosswise 
to  take  out  part  of  the  plants. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


123 


CULTIVATION 
FOB   SEED 


IRRIGATION 
FOB   SEED 


Where  alfalfa  seed  is  raised  under  dry  fann- 
ing conditions,  the  plants  may  be  cultivated 
when  very  small,  as  are  sugar  beets,  with  a  culti- 
vator supplied  with  "duck  feet,"  or  "bull 
tongues."  After  the  plants  are  a  year  old  the  cul- 
tivation may  be  done  with  a  disc  or  alfalfa  har- 
row. After  the  plants  begin  to  produce  seed,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  cultivate  carefully  in  order 
to  prevent  thickening  up  from  the  growth  of  seed 
which  is  shattered  off  the  parent  plants.  Under 
irrigation  we  would  give  the  same  cultivation  as 
for  dry  farming,  and  in  addition  it  will  be  nec- 
essary to  ditch  deeply  between  the  rows.  These 
ditches  should  be  made  before  the  plants  get  too 
large. 

Alfalfa  raised  for  seed  production  should 
never  be  allowed  to  get  dry  or  to  suffer  for  water. 
The  key  to  the  method  of  raising  alfalfa  seed  is 
furnished  by  those  plants  which  grow  along  ditch 
banks.  Such  plants  which  are  never  flood  irri- 
gated, which  never  get  dry,  which  are  not 
crowded,  always  produce  seed  abundantly.  If 
the  plants  get  so  dry  that  growth  is  stopped,  an 
irrigation  will  start  new  growth  from  the  crowns, 
which  interferes  with  or  destroys  the  crop. 


HARVESTING  The    problem    of    harvesting    alfalfa    seed 

THRESHING       £rowTl  by  irrigation  where  the  rows  are  wide  and 

the  ditches  are  deep,  has  not  been  worked  out. 

Xo  machine  has  been  constructed  for  this  work. 


124 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


It  would  seem,  however,  that  the  crop  is  suffi- 
ciently profitable  to  pay  for  hand  work  until 
such  time  as  invention  supplies  a  better  method. 
The  seed  should  either  be  placed  in  bundles  or 
tied  and  allowed  to  get  thoroughly  dry  before  it 
is  stacked.  It  should  be  threshed  with  the  al- 
falfa huller.  An  ordinary  threshing  machine 
does  not  do  clean  work  and  wastes  too  much  seed. 
The  seed  should  be  stored  in  a  dry  place  where 
there  is  not  likely  to  be  great  changes  in  temper- 
ature. 


PROBABLE 
YIELDS 


FERTILIZA- 
TION   OP 
THE 

FLOWERS 


Alfalfa  seed  grown  in  culture  for  this  special 
purpose  should  produce  heavy  crops.  One  crop 
of  twenty-eight  bushels  of  alfalfa  seed  per  acre 
has  been  reported ;  in  another  authenticated  case 
a  crop  was  raised  of  nineteen  and  one-half  bush- 
els of  seed  per  acre  on  three  acres.  These  yields 
show  the  possibilities  of  the  crop.  An  average 
of  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels  per  acre  should  be 
secured  by  correct  culture  and  treatment.  With 
an  expense  of  $20  an  acre,  the  profit  ought  to  be 
equal  to  that  from  the  culture  of  other  intensive 
crops,  like  sugar  beets  and  potatoes. 

It  has  generally  been  believed  that  alfalfa, 
like  other  clovers,  required  the  visitation  of  in- 
sects to  fertilize  the  flowers.  Failure  of  the  seed 
crop  is  often  due  to  lack  of  proper  fertilization. 
It  is  now  known  that  alfalfa  flowers  may  become 
fertilized  without  the  agency  of  insects.  Alfalfa 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


125 


WILL  THERE 
BE  A  SEED 
CROP 


ilo\vcr<  arc  supplied  with  a  little  trap,  the  spring- 
ing of  which  insures  getting  the  pollen  where  it 
is  needed.  The  honey  bee  seems  to  be  one  of 
ilic  most  important  agents  for  fertilizing  alfalfa. 
Alfalfa  is  one  of  the  best  honey  plants  known. 
Every  alfalfa  seed  raiser  should  keep  bees. 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  early  in  the  spring 
whether  or  not  a  crop  of  seed  will  be  secured. 
Tf  the  season  is  very  wet  and  cold  and  the  plants 
make  large,  thick  growth,  it  will  be  better  to  cut 
the  first  crop  instead  of  letting  it  go  to  seed.  If 
the  blooms  are  light  in  color,  and  are  few,  if  the 
tlnw."is  do  not  fertilize,  but  fall  off,  leaving  the 
stems  bare ;  if  only  one  or  two  weak  looking  pods 
are  produced  in  a  flower  truss  and  there  is  a 
small  amount  of  curl  in  the  pod  or  only  one  or 
two  seeds  appear  in  it,  the  crop  had  better  be  cut 
for  hay.  Sometimes  there  is  early  insect  in- 
jury, as  from  grasshoppers  or  early  appearance 
of  leaf-spot  or  other  disease  which  indicates  that 
a  profitable  seed  crop  will  not  be  secured.  Some- 
times the  bloom  will  increase  and  become  well 
fertilized  later  in  the  season,  but  the^e  early  in- 
dications are  almost  sure  evidence  of  what  may 
be  exnected. 


CLIPPING 
YOUNG 

PLANTS 


The  younir  alfalfa  plants  sown  in  rows  for 
seed  should  bo  clipped  in  late  summer  or  early 
fall  of  the  first  season.  This  clipping  should  be 
done  not  more  than  half  way  down  the  plant. 


126 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


CROP  FOB 

SEED 


TIME   TO 

HARVEST 

SEED 


Cutting  close  to  the  ground  may  injure  or  de- 
stroy the  young  plants.  Proper  clipping  great- 
ly strengthens  the  plant,  causing  it  to  produce 
larger  roots  and  more  thrifty  crowns. 

The  first  crop  should  ordinarily  be  left  for 
seed,  in  our  Northern  mountain  regions.  In 
any  district  north  of  Colorado  the  second  crop  is 
not  so  certain,  although  it  is  true  that  the  second 
crop  will  often  seed  better  than  the  first.  This 
is  probably  due  to  more  numerous  insects  for  the 
fertilization  of  the  flowers  later  in  the  season. 
Where  the  season  is  long,  so  four  crops  or  more 
of  alfalfa  are  cut,  the  first  crop  may  be  clipped 
or  cut  for  hay,  and  the  second  crop  used  for  seed. 

Alfalfa  for  seed  should  be  cut  before  it  gets 
too  ripe.  If  allowed  to  stand  too  long  or  there  is 
a  shower  of  rain  after  the  pods  are  fully  ripe, 
they  will  shatter  and  there  will  be  much  loss.  It 
is  best  to  cut  the  seed  crop  when  the  alfalfa  stems 
are  still  more  or  less  green,  or  when  a  majority 
of  the  seed  pods  have  turned  brown.  The  earlier 
ripened  seed  is  probably  best,  and  that  which  is 
green  or  immature  can  be  blown  out  with  the 
fan. 


STACKING 
FOR  SEED 


The  alfalfa  bundles  or  gavels  from  the  self- 
rake  should  be  piled  together  for  protection  from 
rain  and  to  prevent  shattering,  by  handling  as 
lar^e  bundles  as  convenient.  When  thoroughly 


A  KID    AGRICULTURE.  127 

dry,  these  bundles  should  be  put  in  the  stack. 
Alfalfa  for  seed  should  be  stacked  several  weeks, 
or  long  enough  to  get  through  the  sweat  before 
threshing.  Xever  put  alfalfa  in  the  stack  when 
there  is  moisture  on  the  outside  of  the  leaves  01 
stems.  Much  alfalfa  seed  is  destroyed  by  heat- 
ing in  the  stack.  If  the  stacks  are  large,  some 
form  of  stack  ventilator  should  be  used.  There 
should  be  a  stack  bottom  of  poles  or  other  mate- 
rial to  keep  the  alfalfa  off  the  ground,  and  open 
barrels  or  other  frames  may  be  put  inside  the 
-rack  to  serve  as  ventilators.  This  applies  to  al- 
falfa for  hay  as  well  as  for  seed. 

VARIETIES  The  author  is  now  growing  a  total  of  forty- 

two  varieties  and  strains  of  alfalfa.  Many  of 
these  are  more  properly  varietal  strains  from 
different  parts  of  the  world.  While  there  are 
few  varieties  of  alfalfa  on  the  market,  the  seed 
buyer  has  some  choice,  and  it  is  important  that 
he  make  his  own  decision  rather  than  let  the 
seedsman  choose  for  him.  The  varieties  offered 
by  seedsmen  are:  common  alfalfa,  which  covers 
a  multitude  of  forms;  Turkestan  alfalfa,  the 
seed  of  which  has  a  brown  or  reddish  tinge ;  Ger- 
man alfalfa,  often  identical  with  the  seedsman's 
Turkestan,  and  Grimm's  alfalfa,  which  is  said 
to  be  an  American  strain  of  sand  lucern.  Plants 
of  Turkestan  alfalfa  are  so  much  like  our  com* 
mon  form  that  they  are  indistinguishable.  The 
value  of  this  strain  is  not  that  it  is  a  different. 


128 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


type,  but  that  the  seed  has  been  grown  under 
conditions  of  drouth,  which  give  it  strength  and 


Plate  XIX.      Wonderful   Alfalfa  Grown   in  Northern 

Wyoming-.      Tallest  Specimens  Were  Nine  Feet 

and  Two  Inches  High. 


AKID    AGRICULTURE.  129 

vigor  when  changed  to  our  soil  conditions.  Ger- 
man alfalfa  seed  has  done  well  in  some  localities, 
but  has  nothing  specially  to  recommend  it.  Oi 
common  alfalfa  seed  the  discriminating  planter- 
will  choose  well  when  buying.  That  which  is 
grown  in  the  ^orth  will  give  better  results  than 
that  which  is  grown  in  southern  sections  of  the 
country.  In  some  regions,  alfalfa  seed  usually 
becomes  contaminated  with  sweet  clover.  Any 
one  with  acute  sense  of  smell  can  detect  sweet 
clover  seed  in  alfalfa.  There  is  no  way  of  separat- 
ing it,  and  while  sweet  clover  is  not  a  bad  weed 
in  alfalfa  fields  (except  in  those  for  seed  produc- 
tion), the  buyer  does  not  like  to  be  fooled  with 
any  such  adulterant.  It  is  important  that  vari- 
eties of  alfalfa  which  are  resistant  to  leaf-spot 
disease  and  adapted  to  our  conditions  of  soils 
and  climate  should  be  produced. 

GOOD  SEED  Good  alfalfa  seed  varies  in  color,  but  is  usu- 

ally a  bright  golden  yellow,  or  it  may  have  a 
slight  greenish  tinge.  It  should  be  practically 
free  from  black,  shriveled,  immature  seeds;  it- 
should  be  entirely  free  from  dodder  and  other 
dangerous  weeds.  It  should  be  viable — alive, 
and  germinate  promptly  when  planted.  Alfalfa 
and  other  leguminous  seeds  often  become  so  hard 
that  they  will  remain  in  the  soil  a  year  or  more 
before  they  germinate.  Good  seed  is  that  which 
will  make  the  strongest  growth,  and  such  seed  is 
usually  produced  in  the  shortest  season. 


130 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


SOILS  FOB 
ALFALFA 


ALFALFA 

HAY 

CULTURE 


Alfalfa  will  grow  and  thrive  on  almost  any 
character  of  soil  found  in  the  West.  The  kind 
of  sub-soil  is  more  important  than  that  of  the 
surface.  If  the  subsoil  consists  of  hardpan  or 
is  filled  with  moisture  which  comes  near  the 
surface,  it  is  not  so  suitable  for  alfalfa.  Some 
of  the  strongest  soils  which  produce  the  heaviest 
crops  are  the  clays  and  greasewood  lands,  but  it 
usually  takes  longer  to  get  alfalfa  established  in 
such  soils.  With  proper  soil  management,  alfalfa 
will  grow  almost  anywhere.  If  the  soil  is  shal- 
low, it  requires  more  irrigation.  If  it  is  heavy 
clay,  also  more  irrigation  will  be  required.  If 
the  sub-surface  water  changes  its  position 
through  the  year,  being  several  feet  lower  in  the 
growing  season  than  it  is  in  the  winter  or  spring, 
its  rise  will  usually  drown  alfalfa.  Alfalfa  is 
not  very  resistant  to  strong  alkali  soils.  At  high 
altitudes  where  the  season  is  short,  more  care 
will  be  needed  in  its  culture,  and  under  dry 
farming  special  attention  to  the  conservation  of 
moisture  is  necessary. 

Alfalfa  is  an  intensive  culture  hay.  The 
plant  is  worth  all  the  work  and  attention  given 
it.  It  responds  to  careful,  persistent  attention. 
The  fact  that  it  is  easy  to  grow  should  not  make 
the  farmer  careless.  The  profit  in  any  kind  of 
farming  does  not  lie  in  average  crops,  but  in  pro- 
ducing more  than  average  crops. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


131 


PREPARATION  Sowing  alfalfa  in  the  sod  or  on  sod  land  sel- 
dom results  favorably.  Alfalfa  seed  has  become 
scarce  and  expensive  and  should  never  be  wasted 
or  thrown  away  in  a  poor  seedbed.  New  land 
should  be  cultivated  in  some  other  crop  at  least 
one  year  before  it  is  seeded  to  alfalfa.  The  seed- 
bed should  be  moist  and  well  packed.  On  this 
account  it  is  advisable  to  plow  in  the  fall.  Where 
irrigation  is  practiced  too  much  care  cannot  be 
given.  The  careful  leveling  and  smoothing  of 
land  which  is  to  be  seeded  to  alfalfa  is  necessary. 
The  crop  is  to  remain  on  the  soil  for  from  two 
to  ten  or  more  years,  and  avoiding  future  ex- 
pense of  difficult  irrigating  will  pay  many  times 
over.  It  is  well  carefully  to  level  the  ground 
and  then  try  it  by  giving  a  flood  irrigation  before 
the  seed  is  planted.  If  there  are  holes  or  bumps 
which  are  hard  to  irrigate,  go  on  again  with  the 
Fresno  scraper,  land  grader  or  home-made  level- 
er.  Either  irrigation  or  sufficient  length  of 
time  and  attention  given  to  conservation  of 
moisture  should  always  be  practiced  before 
planting  alfalfa  seed.  It  is  important  that  there 
should  be  enough  moisture  in  the  soil  to  germi- 
nate the  seed  and  give  the  plants  their  first  few 
weeks  of  growth  until  they  get  eight  or  ten  inches 
high  before  another  irrigation  becomes  neces- 
sary. 

Where  the  seasons  are  short  alfalfa  should  be 
sown  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  ground  can  be 


132  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

put  in  proper  condition  and  heavy  freezing 
weather  is  past.  The  young  plants  are  not  seri- 
ously injured  by  a  few  degrees  of  frost.  At 
lower  altitudes  where  the  season  is  longer  alfalfa 
may  be  sown  any  time  up  to  the  middle  of 
August.  As  far  north  as  northern  Wyoming  we 
have  succeeded  in  securing  a  good  stand  of  al- 
falfa where  it  was  planted  as  late  as  the  last  of 
August. 

SEEDING-  Use  a  drill.     Use  a  drill  with  press-wheel  at- 

tachments.  Do  not  sow  broadcast  unless  only 
an  acre  or  so  is  planted  and  a  drill  cannot  be 
obtained.  Plant  the  seed  shallow — from  one- 
half  inch  to  two  inches  deep.  The  amount  of 
seed  to  use  will  depend  upon  circumstances.  If 
the  seedbed  is  in  perfect  condition,  moist,  loose 
on  the  surface,  firm  below  and  warm,  from  eight 
to  twelve  pounds  of  good  seed  per  acre  will  pro- 
duce a  sufficient  stand.  Usually  the  seedbed  is 
not  in  good  condition  and  twenty  pounds  of  seed 
per  acre  is  recommended.  The  more  seed  the 
finer  the  hay,  other  things  being  equal.  Some 
growers,  especially  in  the  Eastern  states,  plant  as 
much  as  thirty  pounds  or  forty  pounds  of  seed 
per  acre.  The  method  the  author  has  recom- 
mended to  growers  is  to  sow  ten  or  twelve  pounds 
the  first  year,  and  if  a  heavy  stand  is  not  secured, 
go  over  the  second  season  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion and  drill  in  ten  pounds  more  of  seed.  This 
reseeding  should  be  done  the  first  or  second  year, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  133 

as  after  the  old  plants  get  well  established  the 
young  ones  are  shaded  or  crowded  out,  and  never 
make  a  good,  thrifty  growth.  Seed  at  right 
angles  to  the  direction  of  the  wind.  Under  irri- 
gation it  is  best  to  seed  with  the  direction  of  the 
land  slope,  unless  the  land  is  so  steep  the  soil 
will  wash. 


PLANTING  It  is  common  practice  to  sow  alfalfa  with 

•WITH  NURSE  some  nurse  crop,  as  no  return  can  be  expected 
from  the  alfalfa  the  first  year.  When  this 
is  properly  done,  a  nurse  crop  is  not  especially 
objectionable,  as  a  stand  will  be  secured  which 
will  produce  hay  the  second  year.  Better  re- 
sults are  always  obtained  without  a  nurse  crop. 
The  plants  become  stronger  and  will  produce 
heavier  crops  of  hay  the  second  year  where  they 
have  the  land  all  to  themselves  from  the  time  of 
planting.  The  best,  nurse  crops  are  those  grains 
which  produce  the  least  leaf  growth  or  stool  the 
least,  or  mature  in  the  shortest  season.  "Maca- 
roni wheat  is  better  than  other  wheat.  Wheat 
or  barley  is  better  than  oats.  If  grain  is  used  as 
a  nurse  crop,  plant  it  thin,  using  only  half  or 
two-thirds  the  seed  used  if  planting  without  al- 
falfa. Winter  grains  may  be  used  as  nurse 
crops  by  harrowing  in  the  spring  and  sowing  al- 
falfa early,  before  they  have  made  large  growth. 
These  crops  mature  early  in  the  summer  and 
leave  considerable  season  for  the  alfalfa  to  es- 
tabli>li  itself  after  thev  are  removed. 


134  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

CULTIVATION  If  any  cultivation  is  attempted  the  first  sum- 
mer, it  must  be  carefully  done.  Young  alfalfa 
plants  are  very  tender.  At  the  end  of  the 
season,  however,  a  light  harrowing  crossways  of 
the  drills  may  do  more  good  than  harm.  If 
weeds  are  thick,  they  should  be  mowed  before 
there  is  danger  of  smothering  the  young  plants ; 
but  do  not  cut  close  to  the  ground.  An  excellent 
practice  is  to  apply  a  thin  coating  of  manure 
with  a  spreader  over  the  alfalfa  field  in  the  fall, 
either  for  new  or  old  planting. 

It  is  only  recently  we  have  discovered  the 
great  profit  arising  from  cultivating  alfalfa 
fields.  There  are  two  indispensable  imple- 
ments for  alfalfa  cultivation:  the  disc,  or  the 
spiked-tooth  alfalfa  harrow,  and  the  drag  har- 
row. Cultivation  should  begin  in  earnest  in  the 
spring  of  the  second  season.  If  the  disc  is  used, 
set  the  blades  fairly  straight.  Weight  the  disc 
so  that  it  will  cut  two  or  three  inches  deep.  Lap 
it  each  round  to  leave  the  ground  level,  and  do 
the  work  thoroughly.  The  alfalfa  spiked-tooth 
harrow  does  not  ridge  the  land  like  the  disc  and 
does  not  split  the  crowns  of  the  alfalfa  plants. 
It  digs  up  the  soil  deeper,  and  does  excellent 
work  in  loosening  and  aerating  it.  If  the  soil  is 
left  lumpy,  follow  with  the  drag  harrow  to  finish 
the  work.  This  cultivation  should  always  be 
done  in  the  early  spring ;  it  may  be  done  in  the 
fall  and  winter,  and  in  many  localities  will  pay 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  135 

after  each  cutting,  providing  there  is  time  after 
irrigation  and  before  the  plants  get  too  high. 
Such  cultivation  lets  air  into  the  soil,  saves 
moisture,  kills  weeds,  destroys  insects,  makes 
plant  food  available,  increases  the  crop. 

INOCULA-  In  most  of  our  western  soils  alfalfa  will  not 

need  artificial  inoculation.  By  inoculation  we 
mean  supplying  the  bacteria  which  live  on  al 
falfa  roots  and  gather  nitrogen  from  the  air. 
Alfalfa  will  live  without  the  presence  of  these 
bacteria,  but  it  does  not  do  well.  These  bacteria 
produce  little  nodules  or  tubercles  on  the  roots, 
take  the  nitrogen  gas  of  the  air  and  change  it 
into  nitric  acid,  which  in  turn  becomes  valuable 
plant  food,  and  the  kind  most  needed  in  the 
West  Where  alfalfa  plants  do  not  thrive,  look 
yellow  or  appear  to  be  in  a  dying  condition,  it  is 
usually  due  to  the  absence  of  nitrogen  bacteria. 
Artificial  inoculation  material  has  been  on  the 
market,  but  it  has  so  generally  failed  that  farm- 
ers should  not  spend  good  money  for  such  cul- 
tures. A  practical  method  of  inoculation  is  to 
take  soil  from  an  old  alfalfa  field  or  from  a  place 
where  sweet  clover  is  growing  and  sow  it  over  the 
field  to  be  inoculated.  A  thin  sowing  of  a  few 
pounds  per  acre  will  get  the  bacteria  started 
after  which  it  will  increase  and  spread.  We 
have  sent  such  alfalfa  soil  in  four-pound  pack- 
ages by  mail  to  farmers  who  have  changed  their 
success  with  alfalfa  by  sowing  upon  and  harrow- 
ing it  into  their  fields. 


136 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


ALFALFA 
MIXTURES 


IRRIGATION 
OF  ALFALFA 
HAY 


On  many  farms  of  the  West  sowing  some 
grass  with  alfalfa  is  giving  excellent  results. 
Four  grasses  are  used  for  this  -purpose,  and  we 
recommend  a  fifth.  The  four  commonly  used 
are  timothy,  brome  grass,  orchard  grass,  or 
meadow  fescue.  In  places,  no  doubt,  the  slender 
wheat  grass  will  give  as  good  or  better  results 
than  any  of  the  foregoing.  The  method  is  to  sow 
the  ordinary  amount  of  alfalfa  seed  and  then 
put  on  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds  of  the  grass 
selected,  and  harrow  it  in.  These  grasses  which 
grow  tall  enough  will  head  just  above  the  alfalfa, 
and  it  is  claimed  fields  produce  as  large  crops  of 
both  alfalfa  and  the  grass  used  as  would  be 
grown  if  each  were  planted  alone.  Such  alfalfa 
and  grass  mixtures  make  excellent  stock  feed, 
especially  for  fattening,  as  the  grasses  widen  the 
ration.  Mixtures  of  this  kind  are  not  recom- 
mended for  dry  farming.  Grass  sod  in  alfalfa 
shortens  the  life  of  the  alfalfa  plants  and  pre- 
vents thorough  harrow  cultivation. 

Irrigate  the  ground  before  planting.  Do 
not  irrigate  the  seed  up  if  it  is  possible  to  avoid 
it.  Do  not  irrigate  alfalfa  when  too  young,  un- 
less you  know  it  is  burning.  Many  practice  irri- 
gating old  fields  early  in  the  spring  before  the 
alfalfa  starts,  but  this  is  probably  not  the  best 
practice.  Fall  or  winter  irrigation  is  better. 
Alfalfa  may  be  winter  killed  if  irrigated  so  late 
that  the  water  freezes  around  the  crowns  of  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  137 

plants.  If  the  water  is  absorbed  by  the  soil  so 
that  it  does  not  stand  and  freeze,  no  damage  will 
be  done,  or  if  the  ground  is  thoroughly  frozen 
and  the  water  merely  forms  ice  over  the  surface 
it  does  not  harm  the  plants.  Usually,  the  first 
crop  can  be  produced  without  irrigation;  but 
alfalfa  should  be  irrigated  for  each  of  the  second, 
third,  and  fourth  crops.  Some  farmers  prac- 
tice irrigating  just  before  cutting  the  hay.  Irri- 
gating at  that  time  leaves  the  ground  damp, 
which  interferes  with  mowing,  makes  the  hay 
more  succulent,  and  delays  curing,  which  may 
cause  injury  to  the  hay.  It  does,  however,  put 
moisture  in  the  ground  where  it  produces  a 
quick  and  vigorous  start  from  the  crowns  for  the 
next  crop.  Alfalfa  should  be  cut,  cured,  and 
removed  from  the  ground  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Then  irrigate  after  the  cutting.  It  is  easier 
to  spread  water  on  the  stubble.  The  irri- 
gation can  be  done  better  and  does  not  interfere 
with  making  the  hay.  Alfalfa  does  not  stand 
well  in  water.  The  irrigations  should  be  as 
short  as  possible.  Some  of  the  best  farmers  in 
the  West  now  practice  furrow  irrigation  for  al- 
falfa. The  furrows  are  made  with  a  corn  mark- 
er or  something  of  the  same  kind.  They  are 
usually  shallow  furrows,  four  or  five  inches  deep, 
and  made  two  feet  apart.  Running  water 
through  these  furrows  prevents  flooding  the 
crowns,  and  on  many  soils  better  crops  are  pro- 
duced. 


138 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


HARVESTING 
HAY 


Alfalfa  for  hay  should  be  harvested  when  it 
first  begins  to  come  into  bloom.  The  best  hay- 
makers rake  their  alfalfa  either  immediately 
after  mowing  or  as  soon  as  it  is  slightly  wilted. 
Some  keep  their  hay  in  wind-rows  ;  others  bunch 
with  a  rake.  Undoubtedly  the  best  method,  al- 


Plate  XX.     A  Good  Way  to  Make  Large  Stacks. 
L.  A.  K.  Ranch. 

Photo  by  Stimson. 


though  it  takes  more  work,  is  to  put  the  hay  in 
cocks  with  a  fork,  as  it  saves  much  waste  and  in- 
sures the  best  curing.  The  hay  should  be  stacked 
when  it  is  sufficiently  dry,  but  not  too  brittle. 
Do  not  put  in  stack  when  there  is  dew,  rain,  or 
other  moisture  on  the  outside  of  the  stems  and 
leaves.  If  perfectly  dry  outside,  it  may  be 


ARID    AGRICILLTURE. 


139 


stacked  when  there  is  considerable  moisture  in 
the  hay,  providing  the  stacks  are  not  made  too 
large  or  stack  ventilators  are  used.  Always  use 
some  kind  of  stack  bottom,  even  if  it  is  no  more 
than  a  layer  of  straw.  On  large  fields  many 
use  the  common  go-devil,  or  ricker,  to  haul  the 


Plate  XXI. 


The  "Go  Devil"  and  Stacker  Putting 
Up  Alfalfa. 


hay  cocks  or  bunches  to  the  stackers.  Mr.  Wil- 
cox  has  called  attention  to  the  Lockhart  drag  as 
an  advanced  method  of  hauling  hay  from  the 
fields  to  the  stack.  This  drag  is  made  of  nine 
1x6  boards  placed  six  inches  apart  and  bolted  at 
each  end  to  2x4  cross  pieces  laid  flat.  It  is  sim- 
ply dragged  over  the  field  and  a  ton  or  more  of 
hay  tipped  onto  it  with  forks  and  then  dragged 


140 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


HARVEST 
AFTER   ANY 
INJURY 


STORING 
GREEN 

ALFALFA 


to  the  stack,  where  the  hay  is  delivered  to  the 
stacker.  New  stacks,  especially  where  the  wind 
blows,  should  be  anchored  by  wires  over  the  tops 
and  fastening  weights  to  them. 

Do  not  hesitate  about  or  delay  the  cutting  of 
alfalfa  at  any  time  if  its  tops  are  injured  se- 
verely by  frosts,  or  hail,  or  insects,  or  drouth.  It 
never  pays  to  leave  such  injured  alfalfa  with  the 
hope  that  it  may  recover,  because  the  plants  al- 
ways make  a  second  growth  from  the  crowns,  and 
the  injured  tops  both  spoil  the  hay  and  interfere 
with  the  growth  of  the  second  crop. 

Green  alfalfa  may  be  stored  either  in  the 
silo  or  by  a  new  method  recommended  by  the 
Kansas  Experiment  Station.  We  do  not  rec- 
ommend silos  for  the  West,  because  dry  alfalfa 
hay  is  such  a  perfect  food  that  there  is  no  neces- 
sity of  putting  it  up  green.  The  Kansas  method 
of  storing  green  alfalfa  is  of  interest.  The  al- 
falfa is  hauled  in  as  soon  as  possible  after  cut- 
ting and  stored  on  floors,  two  to  three  feet  above 
ground,  made  of  poles  or  slats,  which  supply 
openings  through  which  the  air  from  beneath  can 
pass  up  through  the  hay.  These  sheds  are  cov- 
ered with  some  kind  of  roof.  The  alfalfa  is 
piled  from  three  to  five  feet  deep  on  the  floors, 
and  if  the  weather  is  dry  and  there  is  no  outside 
moisture  on  the  stems  or  leaves,  it  is  claimed 
will  cure  perfectly  without  heating.  Such 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  141 

hay  contains  all  the  leaves  and  retains  a  perfect 
green  color,  which  gives  it  the  highest  value. 
Care  must  be  taken  not  to  compact  the  hay  after 
it  is  put  in. 


AZ.FAZ.FA  Any  one  who  has  had  experience  or  who  has 

FERTILIZER  studied  alfalfa  in  its  relation  to  western  soils  be- 
comes most  appreciative  and  enthusiastic  about 
its  unparalleled  value.  Through  the  agency  of 
the  bacteria  on  its  roots  alfalfa  is  one  of  the 
strongest  nitrogen  gathering  plants.  It  grows 
from  a  large,  strong  tap  root,  which  reaches  the 
lower  depths  of  the  soil,  bringing  up  plant  food 
from  the  sub-soil,  loosening  compacted  soils  and 
adding  vegetable  matter  through  their  own 
decay  when  the  soil  is  used  for  other  crops.  In 
growing  several  crops  in  a  season,  which  are 
harvested  as  hay,  there  is  a  considerable  deposit 
on  the  surface  of  broken  off  leaves,  small  stems, 
and  more  especially  of  stubble,  which  dies  each 
time  from  the  place  cut  by  the  mower  to  the 
crown  of  the  plant.  These  things  add  much  veg- 
etable matter  to  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Our 
studies  have  convinced  us  that  growing  alfalfa 
on  any  soil  from  three  to  five  years  adds  from 
thirty  to  forty  dollars  worth  of  available  fertil- 
izer when  it  is  plowed  up  for  the  production  of 
other  crops.  By  using  alfalfa  in  rotation  the 
raising  of  intensive  crops,  like  potatoes  and 
sugar  beets,  is  made  possible,  and  rotation  with 
alfalfa  in  parts  of  the  West  has  increased  the 


142  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

• 

average  wheat  yields  from  less  than  twenty 
bushels  per  acre  to  approximately  fifty  bushels 
per  acre.  Every  farmer  w7ho  can  grow  alfalfa, 
whether  or  not  he  may  use  the  hay  for  stock  feed, 
should  consider  this  plant  the  foundation  of  his 
rotations  in  soil  culture. 

When  used  as  a  fertilizer  many  farmers  sim- 
ply leave  the  alfalfa  two  years.  The  alfalfa 
products  themselves  are  so  valuable  that  in  most 
places  when  a  good  stand  is  secured  it  will  pay 
to  let  it  occupy  the  ground  from  three  years  to 
seven  or  eight  years,  or  even  much  longer 
periods. 

PASTURING  There  is  objection  to  the  use  of  alfalfa  as 

pasture  for  three  important  reasons.  First, 
sheep  or  cattle  pastured  on  alfalfa  are  very  apt 
to  bloat.  The  way  pasturing  is  usually  done 
there  is  a  loss  of  animals,  which  may  make  it 
unprofitable.  Sometimes  alfalfa  hay  will  cause 
bloat  when  overfed  to  sheep  and  cattle.  The 
cured  hay  at  high  altitudes  where  the  stems  are 
fine  and  there  is  a  large  percentage  of  leaves  is 
more  apt  to  cause  bloat.  Undoubtedly  the  best 
method  of  feeding  green  alfalfa  is  by  soiling,  in 
which  the  alfalfa  is  cut  and  carried  to  the  ani- 
mals each  day. 

The  second  reason  for  not  pasturing  alfalfa 
is  that  it  injures  the  plants.  Tramping  and 
packing  the  ground  by  stock,  more  especially  in 
regions  where  alfalfa  is  hard  to  grow,  may  cause 


144  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

more  damage  than  profit  from  the  pasture.  This 
can  be  largely  obviated  by  cultivation. 

The  third  reason  for  not  pasturing  alfalfa  is 
that  it  does  much  to  foster  and  spread  alfalfa  dis- 
eases. One  of  the  best  remedies  for  our  more 
serious  alfalfa  diseases  is  discing  and  aerating 
the  soil.  When  soils  have  been  compacted  by 
heavy  tramping,  those  bacteria  and  fungi  which 
produce  disease  find  conditions  most  favorable 
for  their  development  and  do  the  most  serious 
damage. 

Notwithstanding  these  objections  much  prof- 
itable pasturing  of  alfalfa  is  done.  Many  large 
ranch  and  range  men  leave  the  last  crop  to  be  fed 
off  by  their  stock  in  the  fall  and  early  winter. 
By  proper  management  there  need  be  little  or  no 
loss  from  bloat.  Sometimes  the  alfalfa  is  al- 
lowed to  become  more  or  less  cured  and  sheep  or 
cattle  are  never  turned  on  when  hungry  so  they 
will  gorge  themselves.  They  should  be  well  filled 
with  other  roughage  and  after  turning  them  in 
the  alfalfa  fields  they  are  left  there  continuously. 
Moving  them  off  and  on  to  the  alfalfa  will  cause 
serious  trouble.  Horses,  swine  and  poultry  may 
be  pastured  on  green  alfalfa  at  any  time. 

VALUE  OP  The  first  crop  of  alfalfa  hay  is  always  prized 

as  the  most  nutritious  and  valuable.  It  contains 
less  moisture,  becomes  better  matured  and  un- 
doubtedly makes  the  best  hay  for  horses.  Some 
Colorado  lamb  feeders  say  the  best  cutting  for 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  145 

lambs  is  the  first,  the  next  best  is  the  third  cut- 
ting  and  the  second  cutting  is  poorest  of  all.  The 
third  cutting  is  most  succulent  and  the  best  for 
cows  giving  milk. 

ALFALFA  Recently  the  alfalfa  meal  industry  has  bc- 

PBODUCTS  ,  ,    . 

come  a  large  and  important  one.  Alfalfa  is  so 
rich  in  food  elements  that  it  practically  becomes 
a  concentrate  when  reduced  to  the  condition  of 
fine  meal.  This  alfalfa  meal  is  mixed  with  other 


Plate  XXIII. 


things  to  make  complete  rations.  It  is  mixed 
with  molasses  from  the  beet  sugar  factories,  and 
sometimes  called  "Alfalmo."  Sugar  beet  mo- 
lasses is  a  carbohydrate  which  widens  the  ration 
and  gives  excellent  results.  The  finer  alfalfa 
meal  or  flour  is  put  up  in  boxes  and  sold  for 
poultry  breakfast  food.  Alfalfa  meal  is  mixed 
with  seeds  and  grains  for  poultry,  with  other 
grains  for  balanced  rations  for  hogs ;  still  others 
for  horses  and  for  cows.  It  is  probable  that  the 
luiy  itself  will  give  almost  as  good  results  for 
cows  <>r  other  animals  which  need  roughage  for 


146  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

stomach  distention,  although  it  is  claimed  that 
alfalfa  meal  does  not  pack  in  -the  stomach.  Some 
recent  experiments  in  Pennsylvania  show  that 
if  bran  can  be  obtained  for  $20  per  ton  and  al- 
falfa costs  $22  per  ton,  it  is  probably  more  eco- 
nomical to  feed  bran.  Alfalfa  meal  has  high 
value  for  dairy  cows,  and  it  is  economical  if  the 
cost  of  the  meal  is  not  excessive. 


CHAPTER  X. 


CANADA 
FIELD    PEA 


VARIETIES 
OF    PEAS 


HAY  AND  FORAGE  CROPS. 

The  hay  of  the  United  States  is  its  most  valuable 
crop.  In  no  place  is  forage  more  important  to  agricul- 
ture than  in  the  arid  region. 

The  Canada  field  pea  is  perhaps  one  of  the 
most  important  and  valuable  crops,  both  for  for- 
age and  grain,  that  has  been  introduced  into  the 
West.  It  is  both  valuable  for  irrigation  farm- 
ing and  dry  farming.  In  some  sections  the  field 
pea  has  revolutionized  the  agriculture.  This  is 
true  in  the  San  Luis  Valley,  of  Colorado,  where 
the  raising  of  Mexican  field  peas  and  the  fatten- 
ing of  lambs  on  them  has  largely  taken  the  place 
of  grain  farming. 

There  are  a  good  many  varieties  of  Canada 
peas.  The  Mexican  is  a  mixed  or  mongrel  sort, 
which  is  largely  grown  in  Colorado.  The  White 
Canada  has  given  us  the  best  results  in  all  our 
experiments.  There  are  several  strains  of  these 
White  Canada  peas.  We  are  now  growing  some 
from  Sweden,  France,  England,  Germany  and 
other  places,  and  some  of  these  strains  are  far 
more  productive  than  the  common  ones  obtained 
from  Canada  or  Wisconsin.  Other  forms  of 
field  peas  offered  by  seedmen  are,  Green  Canada, 
Blue  Scotchman,  and  several  forms  of  garden 


148 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


varieties,  like  the  White  and  Blackeyed  Marrow- 
fat. The  Golden  Vine  is  one  of  the  best  known 
varieties. 


SOILS   FOR 
PEAS 


At  higher  altitudes,  where  the  seasons  are 
cool,  field  peas  do  well  on  almost  any  kind  of 
soil.  At  lower  altitudes  where  the  summer  is 
hot,  the  cold,  heavier  soils  give  better  results. 
Under  systems  of  dry  farming  sandy  soils  which 
retain  the  most  moisture  are  the  best. 


PLANTING 
PEAS 


.TIME    TO 
PLANT 


Peas  are  a  good  crop  for  either  old  land  or 
sod,  and  they  may  be  planted  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  Good  results  are  sometimes  obtained 
from  sowing  them  broadcast  on  the  sod  and  cov- 
ering them  with  the  breaking  plow,  but  such 
method  cannot  be  recommended.  They  may  be 
disced  in  or  planted  and  covered  by  any  method 
used  for  other  seeds.  The  best  way  is  to  use  the 
press  drill.  Forced  feed  drills  will  often  crack 
some  of  the  seeds ;  but  the  saving  made  by  drill- 
ing the  seed  is  very  great  in  spite  of  this  fact. 
Many  of  the  split  peas  will  grow,  and  the  seed 
put  in  the  ground  with  a  drill  will  be  well 
planted.  They  may  be  sown  from  one  inch  to 
four  inches  deep. 

Field  peas  should  be  planted  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  ground  can  be  prepared.  In  some 
places  where  the  ground  is  dry,  the  seed  may  be 
sown  late  enough  in  the  fall  so  that  it  will  not 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


149 


CULTIVATION 
AND 

IRRIGATION 


germinate.  At  lower  altitudes  where  the  sea- 
son is  long,  the  peas  may  be  sown  as  late  as  the 
first  or  middle  of  July,  and  they  will  get  large 
enough  in  the  fall  either  to  produce  forage  or  to 
be  plowed  under  to  increase  the  humus  and  nitro- 
gen in  the  soil.  The  best  time,  however,  is  to 


Plate  XXIV.       Canada  Field  Peas.       This  Field  Yielded 
Over  Thirty-four  Bushels  Per  Acre. 

plant  as  early  in  spring  as  possible.     February 
is  not  too  early,  if  the  ground  is  thawed  out. 

Peas  are  easy  things  to  cultivate.  On  the 
dry  farm,  under  the  two-year  system,  all  they 
will  need  is  a  harrowing  with  a  drag-tooth  har- 
row after  they  have  come  up.  Under  irrigation 
peas  may  be  managed  at  the  pleasure  of  the 


150  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

farmer.  The  pea  is  what  the  botanist  calls  an 
indeterminate  grower,  i.  e.,  it  grows,  blooms,  and 
ripens  seed  as  long  as  there  is  moisture  and  ab- 
sence of  hard,  freezing  weather. 

The  amount  of  irrigation  will  depend  upon 
the  length  of  the  season,  and  somewhat,  also,  on 
the  heat  of  the  summer.  Where  summers  are 
hot,  flood  irrigating  will  blister  or  otherwise  in- 
jure the  pea  plant.  Furrow  irrigation  is  better. 
They  may  be  kept  growing  by  irrigating  often 
enough  to  keep  the  soil  moist.  We  have  found 
that  on  good,  loamy  soil  four  irrigations  gave  a 
yield  of  ripened  peas  of  34%  bushels  per  acre, 
and  about  four  tons  of  vines,  while  seven  irriga- 
tions gave  a  little  larger  growth  in  vine,  but  only 
nineteen  bushels  of  peas,  because  they  did  not 
get  ripe.  On  account  of  its  adaptability  to  dif- 
ferent soils,  different  ways  of  planting,  ease  of 
farm  management  and  response  to  dry  farm 
methods  or  irrigating  practice,  the  field  pea  is 
one  of  the  easiest  managed  crops. 

FEEDING-  The  pea  is  both  forage  and  a  grain  crop.  Pea 

IP  hay  properly  made  is  a  roughage  unexcelled  by 
any  other.  Poorly  made  pea  hay  is  poor  stuff. 
Good  pea  hay  is  a  valuable  feed  for  any  kind  of 
live  stock.  It  has  been  found  that  over-ripe  pea 
hay,  pea  straw,  or  that  which  has  been  spoiled  in 
the  stack,  is  dangerous  to  horses,  cattle,  pigs  or 
sheep,  because  it  causes  indigestion  and  impac- 
tion.  These  troubles  are  absent  when  properly 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  151 

made  and  cured  hay  is  fed.  The  threshed  peas 
are  highly  nitrogenous  food.  They  are  specially 
valuable  for  young,  growing  stock.  Except  for 
lambs  or  pigs  which  have  good  teeth  and  can 
grind  their  food,  peas  should  be  chopped  or 
ground.  Pea  hay  which  contains  ripe  and  partly 
ripe  peas  will  make  the  horses  slick  and  shiny  in 
the  spring  and  will  put  good  fat  on  any  kind  of 
stock. 

HARVESTING  In  many  parts  of  the  West  the  cheapest  and 

PASTURING  best  meth°d  of  harvesting  the  field  pea  is  to  pas- 
ture with  stock.  In  the  San  Luis  Valley,  and 
other  places,  lambs  to  be  fattened  are  turned  on 
the  pea  fields  early  in  October  and  allowed  to  run 
for  about  one  hundred  days.  These  lambs  may 
be  followed  by  pigs,  which  clean  up  the  waste 
peas  that  have  been  shelled  out  and  trampled  un- 
der foot.  The  best  method  is  to  use  hurdles,  or 
division  fences,  so  the  stock  will  not  run  over  and 
tramp  down  all  the  peas  during  the  first  feeding 
period.  They  should  have  fresh  food  and  the 
best  supply  at  the  end  of  their  fattening  period, 
and  this  can  only  be  secured  by  using  a  part  of 
the  field  at  a  time.  By  this  method  of  feeding 
the  expense  of  harvesting  and  handling  the 
crop  is  saved.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  see  that 
the  animals  are  supplied  with  proper  water  and 
salt. 

An  acre  of  peas  that  makes  a  good  crop  will 
feed  and  fatten  eight  to  twelve  lambs  and  leave 


152  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

a  considerable  supply  of  peas  for  the  liogs  which 
follow. 

Such  feeding  leaves  all  the  manure  on  the 
ground  and  spreads  it  at  the  same  time.  With 
the  nitrogen  gathering  of  the  peas  and  the  ma- 
nure of  the  animals,  soils  used  in  this  manner 
are  continually  enriched.  Sheep  will  do  well 
on  peas  even  where  some  snow  covers  them. 
When  the  snow  is  too  deep  a  plow  can  be  run 
through,  breaking  furrows  and  lifting  the  peas 
so  that  the  sheep  can  get  to  them. 

PULLING  OB  If  it  is  desired  to  put  the  peas  in  stack,  either 

THE  CROP  f°r  the  saving  of  seed  or  to  feed  as  pea  hay,  or 
to  be  threshed  for  grain,  they  may  be  pulled  with 
the  old-fashioned  dump  rake,  or  sometimes  with 
an  ordinary  hay  rake.  If  peas  are  mowed,  a 
guard  attachment  should  be  put  on  the  mowing 
machine  which  will  lift  the  vines.  A  man  should 
follow  with  a  fork  and  throw  the  vines  in 
bunches  or  wind-rows,  away  from  the  machine, 
so  that  the  horses  will  not  tramp  over  them  on 
the  second  round. 

The  best  method  of  hauling  peas  to  the  stack 
is  by  the  use  of  sleds  and  slings.  If  threshed  for 
seed,  a  special  threshing  machine  must  be  used 
or  they  must  be  flailed  or  tramped  out.  The  or- 
dinary cylinder  machine  will  not  only  split  the 
peas,  but  make  pea  meal  of  them  in  our  dry  cli- 
mate where  the  grain  gets  brittle. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


153 


COMBINING 
OATS   AND 
PEAS 


."Many  eastern  writers  make  a  strong  point  of 
the  value  of  growing  field  peas  in  connection 
with  some  grain,  generally  oats.  It  is  usually 
claimed  that  the  grain  helps  hold  up  the  peas  and 
increases  the  efficiency  of  both  crops  as  food. 
Our  experience  indicates  that  in  most  places  it 
will  pay  better  to  grow  the  peas  and  the  grain 
separately.  The  grain  is  apt  to  grow  more  rap- 
idly than  the  peas  in  the  early  part  of  the  season, 
and  its  effect  in  shading  and  crowding  the  pea 
vines  usually  produces  small  growrth  or  entirely 
smothers  them.  The  combination  for  feed  of 
pea  hay  and  well  cured  oat  or  barley  hay  pos- 
sesses important  advantages,  as  it  makes  a  better 
balanced  ration. 


The  West  is  not  a  corn  country.  The  great 
value  of  corn,  howrever,  as  a  forage  crop  and  as  a 
cultivated  crop  for  dry  farming,  makes  it  of 
much  importance.  There  are  parts  of  the  West 
where  corn  can  be  raised  for  grain  with  profit, 
but  its  high  value  is  as  a  fodder. 

Corn  is  one  of  the  most  productive  plants  we 
can  grow  in  the  amount  of  roughage  produced 
per  acre.  Yields  of  from  four  tons  to  twelve 
tons  per  acre  are  obtained  of  cured  fodder. 
When  properly  raised  and  cared  for,  corn  fodder 
is  worth  almost  half  as  much  as  alfalfa,  and  it 
produces  a  large  amount  of  digestible  food  per 
acre. 

Corn  is  one  of  the  best  drouth-resistant  for- 


154  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

age  crops,  and  one  that  can  be  most  cheaply 
raised.  Seed  costs  little,  cultivation  may  be 
done;  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  shallow  cultiva- 
tion is  all  that  is  necessary.  The  land  may  be 
plowed  and  cultivated  more  shallow 'for  corn 
than  for  any  other  crop.  Under  dry  farming, 
with  proper  tools,  one  man  can  plant  and  tend 
160  acres  of  corn,  or  of  sorghum.  He  must  have 
plenty  of  horses,  gang  listers,  large  harrows,  and 
gang  weeders. 

VARIETIES  There  are  many  kinds  and  varieties  of  corn, 

WEST  but  they  are  all  classified  under  about  four  heads. 

There  are  flour  corns,  usually  grown  in  the 
South ;  Dent  corns  large  and  small,  Flint  corns 
suitable  to  the  North,  and  sweet  corns.  The  best 
varieties  for  the  most  of  the  West  are  those  short 
season  types  represented  by  the  Flint  corns  and 
the  small  Dents.  Sweet  corn  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  sorts  to  grow  for  forage.  It  will  pro- 
duce almost  or  quite  as  much  forage  per  acre  as 
the  common  kinds.  The  best  varieties  for  this 
purpose  are  the  large  growing  late  sorts,  like 
Evergreen  or  Stowell's  Evergreen. 

Of  the  common  corns  those  that  will  stand 
the  most  drouth,  the  shortest  season,  and  coolest 
nights  are  the  Australian  Elint  corns,  the  W^'te 
Cap  Dent  corns,  Cool  Night  corn  and  M.  <n 
corn.  Corn  is  one  of  the  easiest  plants  to  adapt 
to  variations  of  soil  and  climate. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


155 


We  recommend  deep  plowing  for  dry  farm- 
ing, and  more  shallow  plowing  where  irrigation 
is  done.  Plowing  should  be  as  long  before  plant- 
ing as  possible  in  order  to  let  the  soil  become 
packed.  The  usual  cultivation  to  conserve 
moisture  and  kill  weeds  is  important.  There 
are  two  general  methods  of  planting.  Corn  may 
be  drilled  in  rows  three  or  three  and  one-half 
feet  apart,  dropping  the  seed  about  a  foot  apart 
in  the  row.  Or,  it  may  be  drilled  more  thickly 
for  the  production  of  fine  stemmed  fodder. 
When  planted  in  this  manner,  usually  from  ten 
pounds  to  twenty  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  are 
sown.  For  dry  farming  the  recommendation  is 
to  use  a  lister,  planting  in  hills  with  two  pounds 
to  five  pounds  of  seed  per  acre.  Cultivation 
should  begin  almost  £s  soon  as  the  corn  is 
planted.  It  may  be  frequently  harrowed  until 
the  plants  are  six  or  eight  inches  high.  Then  it 
should  be  cultivated  with  a  weeder  until  too  high 
for  this  machine,  after  w^hich  cultivation  can  be 
done  with  the  ordinary  corn  cultivators,  unless 
there  is  sufficient  moisture  so  the  crop  can  be 
laid  by. 

Corn  fodder  has  the  highest  food  value  when 
it  is  nearly  mature.  It  is  best  to  leave  it  until 
the  ears  are  just  past  the  glazing  stage.  There 
is  considerable  loss  in  the  West  of  food  value 
when  corn  matures.  It  should  be  put  in  as  large 
shocks  as  possible  to  save  this  loss.  It  does  not 


156  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

pay  to  harvest  corn-stalks  by  turning  in  stock  to 
eat  them.  Fodder  is  less  valuable  if  left  to  cure 
in  the  fields,  and  there  is  considerable  loss  occa- 
sioned by  cattle  dying  suddenly  from  corn-stalk 
disease.  There  are  no  bad  effects  from  feeding- 
cured  corn  fodder.  Fifty  pounds  of  corn  fod- 
der when  it  is  in  best  condition  is  said  to  equal 
seventy-five  pounds  of  millet  or  sorghum. 

SORGHUM  The   word   sorghum  usually  designates  the 

AND   KAFIR  .       &  ,  ,  r™ 

CORN  sweet  lorms  which  may  be  grown  ior  sugar,    ihe 

common  non-saccharine  sorghums  are  called 
Kafir  corn,  or  Jerusalem  corn,  rice  corns,  or 
Dhouras.  The  culture  is  alike  for  all  these  sor- 
ghums and  the  general  recommendation  for 
preparation  of  the  land  and  cultivation  of  crop 
given  for  corn  is  applicable  to  sorghum.  These 
plants  are  valuable  for  some  parts  of  the  West. 
The  Kafir  corns  grow  in  the  hotter,  longer  sea- 
sons, and  the  Dhouras  and  sweet  sorghum  fur- 
ther north.  They  are  usually  grown  for  forage, 
but  the  grain  is  of  great  value.  Ground  surghum 
seed  has  much  the  same  nature  as  corn  meal  and 
has  a  value  only  a  little  less  than  corn  for  feeding. 
The  sorghums  have  weak  germinating  seeds  and 
are  slow  in  the  earlier  part  of  their  growth.  The 
seed  should  not  be  planted  until  the  weather  gets 
warm,  usually  after  the  middle  of  May,  and  level 
culture  is  better  than  listing,  as  the  plants  should 
be  up  where  they  receive  the  sun  and  heat.  They 
should  be  drilled  in  rows,  three  feet  apart,  and 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  157 

when  grown  for  forage,  about  one  and  one-half 
bushels  of  seed  may  be  sown  per  acre.  When 
grown  for  grain,  from  six  to  twelve  pounds  of 
seed  should  be  used  which  will  distribute  it 
from  four  to  eight  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  The 
grain  may  be  sown  broadcast  and  harvested  with 
a  mower  for  hay.  The  usual  method  of  harvest- 
ing when  grown  in  rows  is  by  the  use  of  either  a 
mower  or  a  corn  binder.  The  yield  of  grain 
varies  from  twenty  bushels  to  ninety  bushels  of 
grain  in  Kansas,  the  average  being  forty-five 
bushels.  These  crops  will  yield  from  four  to 
eight  tons  of  dry  forage. 

While  sorghums  may  be  more  easily  raised 
than  corn,  their  fodder  is  not  so  valuable. 
They  are  drought  resistant.  They  are  some- 
times cut  early  in  order  to  produce  two 
crops  in  a  season.  It  is  more  advisable,  how- 
ever, to  let  the  plants  become  more  mature.  If 
cut  early,  they  are  succulent  and  cattle  cannot 
eat  enough  to  furnish  them  with  sufficient  nutri- 
ment. They  are  best  cut  for  food  when  the  grain 
is  in  the  milk  or  early  dough  stage.  Dr.  Head- 
den  found  that  good  sweet  sorghum  gives  poor 
feeding  results  compared  with  corn  fodder  or 
other  forage. 

VARIETIES  The  earliest  and  the  best  variety  of  sweet  sor- 

OP  SORGHUM  ojuim  for  general  planting  is  the  Early  Am- 
ber. Early  Orange  is  good,  but  it  requires  a  lit- 
tle longer  season.  The  best  variety  of  Kafir 


158  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

corn  is  the  Black  Hulled  White.  The  Red 
Kafir  corn  is  usually  grown  where  the  season  is 
long ;  but  the  Black  Hulled  White  has  given  the 
best  results  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  West. 

MILLETS  There  are  four  distinct  forms  of  millet. 

First,  the  Japanese  millets,  of  which  our  wild 
crab  grass  is  a  near  relative;  second,  the  round 
headed  millets,  like  the  Common,  German,  Hun- 
garian, Golden,  and  Siberian  millets ;  third,  the 
Pearl  millets,  which  have  round,  cat-tail-likc 
heads,  and,  fourth,  Broom  corn,  hog,  or  Proso 
millets,  which  are  drouth  resistant  forms. 

Of  these  forms  the  Pearl  millet  is  suitable  to 
the  South,  and  will  not  mature  in  our  northwest- 
ern states.  The  proso  millets  will  stand  more 
drouth  and  produce  crops  of  seed  where  others 
would  fail,  but  as  a  forage  they  are  not  so  palat- 
able to  stock  as  are  the  other  forms. 

On  good  soils,  under  irrigation,  Japanese 
millet  will  produce  heavy  yields  of  fairly  good 
forage.  The  German,  Hungarian,  and  Siberian 
millet  are  the  ones  most  generally  recommended. 
Of  these  the  Hungarian  seems  to  be  the  most 
palatable  to  stock,  but  the  German  or  Siberian 
millet  will  probably  produce  heavier  yields. 

Millets  are  quick  growing,  summer  crops 
which  are  quite  exhaustive  on  soils.  They  are 
not  very  useful  at  altitudes  above  6,000  feet,  but 
at  lower  altitudes  they  produce  valuable  hay, 
especially  under  systems  of  dry  farming.  Millet 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  159 

is  a  good  crop  to  raise  on  new  sod,  under  irriga- 
tion. Sow  from  thirty  pounds  to  sixty  pounds 
of  seed  per  acre,  and  as  with  other  small  seeds, 
we  advise  the  use  of  the  press  drill.  Millets  are 
good  feeds  for  most  stock,  but  they  must  he  fed 
carefully  to  horses.  It  is  better  to  mix  millet 
with  other  hay,  like  oats,  peas,  or  corn  fod- 
der. 

SALT  BUSH  There  are  several  kinds  of  salt  bush  (Atri- 

SAGE  plex)  growing  in  parts  of  the  arid  West.     These 

plants  have  high  feeding  value  and  are  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  forage  on  many  ranges.  The 
Indians  have  appreciated  these  plants  for  their 
horses.  In  "Captain  Bonneville,"  Irving  says 
that  many  years  ago  old  Chief  Arapooish,  in  tell- 
ing that  the  "Crow-Country  is  a  good  country/7 
spoke  of  the  value  of  the  Salt  Weed  for  their 
horses.  Just  what  the  value  of  the  Salt 
sages  will  be  for  cultivation  is  not  known, 
but  some  of  them  are  very  promising.  The  best 
native  kinds  are  apparently  kelson's  Salt  Sage, 
Shad  Scale,  and  the  Annual  Tumbling  Salt- 
weed.  The  one  which  is  most  cultivated  is  the 
introduced  Australian  salt  bush.  This  has 
proved  itself  of  great  value  in  California,  where 
Prof.  Charles  Shinn  made  an  extended  report  of 
it.  Doctor  Headden,  in  Colorado,  has  grown 
the  plants  and  investigated  their  feeding  value. 
He  thinks  this  one  of  the  valuable  dry  land  for- 
age crops.  In  California  it  produced  over  five 


160  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

and  one-half  tons  per  acre  of  fodder,  where  the 
rainfall  was  less  than  five  inches  per  annum. 
This  salt  bush  spreads  on  the  ground,  so  it  is 
hard  to  mow  for  hay,  and  its  great  value  is  as 
pasture.  It  becomes  an  annual  where  the  win- 
ters are  cold,  but  produces  large  amounts  of  seed, 
and  in  Colorado  reseeded  and  maintained  itself 
for  five  seasons.  It  is  very  rich  in  protein  and 
takes  out  of  the  soil  a  large  amount  of  mineral 
matter,  as  it  contains  seventeen  per  cent,  of  ash. 
This  salt  bush  spreads  on  the  ground,  so  it  is 
seeds  must  be  planted  very  shallow.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  get  a  stand,  but  after  once  started  it 
grows  under  very  unfavorable  conditions.  Salt 
sages  are  especially  valuable  for  alkali  soils. 

WHITE  Bokhara  or  white  sweet  clover  is  a  plant  which 

CLOVER  is  much  despised  as  a  weed.     Its  good  qualities 

are  neither  known  nor  understood.  In  our  opin- 
ion it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  plants  for  cer- 
tain conditions  which  we  can  grow  in  the  West. 
It  has  qualities  which  make  it  a  most  desirable 
weed  to  occupy  the  waste  places  on  the  farm.  On 
irrigated  farms,  which  are  properly  managed, 
this  clover  never  becomes  a  troublesome  weed  in 
the  fields.  It  does  become  more  or  less  trouble- 
some, however,  in  some  dry  farm  areas,  because 
it  is  persistent  and  will  spread  even  in  the  na- 
tive sod.  Its  qualities  are,  its  great  hardiness ; 
it  will  grow  on  soils  too  poor  for  other  crops  and 
also  on  strong  alkali  soils;  it  will  stand  more 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  161 

drouth  than  any  other  clover ;  it  is  hardy  enough 
to  produce  well  at  our  higher  altitudes  and  is  so 
strong  in  its  growth  that  it  will  produce  a  large 
amount  of  vegetation  to  plow  under  as  a  green 
manure. 

Sweet  clover  is  one  of  the  strongest  nitrogen- 
gathering  legumes.  The  bacteria  on  the  roots  of 
sweet  clover  are  said  to  be  the  same  as  those 
which  live  on  the  roots  of  alfalfa,  and  soil  from 
sweet  clover  land  can  be  used  to  innoculate  al- 
falfa fields  with  the  nitrogen-gathering  bacteria. 
We  have  never  examined  sweet  clover  roots  with- 
out finding  the  nodules.  On  this  account  it  is 
one  of  the  very  best  plants  to  grow  for  enriching 
the  soil  in  nitrogen. 

Sweet  clover  makes  a  stock  feed  which  is 
valuable  if  it  is  properly  treated.  Breeding  this 
plant  has  been  commenced  with  the  hope  of  pro- 
ducing a  variety  which  will  not  have  the  bitter 
and  sweet  flavor  which  makes  it  unpalatable  to 
stock.  As  it  is,  hay  properly  cured  and  fed, 
give  remarkably  good  results.  A  number  of  cat- 
tle men  have  testified  that  they  had  little  diffi- 
culty teaching  their  stock  to  eat  sweet  clover  hay 
and  that  they  did  well  on  it.  In  some  experi- 
ments carried  out  at  the  Wyoming  Experiment 
Station,  sweet  clover  hay  was  fed  to  fattening 
lambs  with  corn  and  other  grain,  and  the  butcher 
who  dressed  the  lambs  testified  that  they  were 
the  heaviest  and  fattest  he  ever  saw. 


162  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Sweet  clover  is  one  of  the  best  honey  plants 
known. 

Its  general  appearance  on  a  place  and  its 
values,  as  indicated,  makes  sweet  clover  better  as 
a  weed,  filling  up  the  waste  places,  than  Russian 
Thistle,  cow  weed  or  a  host  of  more  pernicious 
and  worthless  plants. 

MAKING  Sweet  clover  should  be  planted  thick.     Use 

SWEET  twenty-five  or  thirty  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  if 

CLOVER    HAY 

planted  for  hay.  It  must  be  cut  when  young, 
before  the  plants  get  coarse  and  woody.  The 
green  plants  are  full  of  juice  and  the  hay  must 
be  cured  in  the  wind-row  or  in  small  cocks.  It 
should  be  allowed  to  get  quite  dry  before  putting 
it  in  the  stack.  When  stacked,  sprinkle  in  the 
hay  five  to  eight  pounds  of  salt  to  each  load,  then 
let  the  hay  stand  in  the  stack  two  years  before 
feeding  it.  This  method  of  curing  hay  two  years 
is  little  used  in  the  United  States,  but  it  is  a 
common  practice  in  England  to  pay  a  premium 
for  horse  hay  which  is  two  years  old.  Sweet 
clover  hay  is  both  strong  in  flavor  and  richer  in 
protein  than  any  other  plant  we  have  grown. 
Chemical  analyses  in  Wyoming  showed  eighteen 
per  cent,  of  protein.  This  indicates  that  the  hay 
is  very  rich.  On  account  of  this  richness  it  must 
be  fed  with  care  in  order  to  make  stock  eat  it 
successfully.  If  fed  too  much,  animals  will  as 
quickly  lose  their  appetite  for  it  as  they  would 
if  overfed  with  grain  or  other  rich  food. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


163 


NOT  A 

DANGEROUS 

WEED 


Sweet  clover  is  a  biennial  plant.  It  lives 
only  two  years  and  the  whole  plant  dies.  Be- 
cause of  this  fact  good  farmers  need  never  fear 
the  plant  as  a  weed.  If  not  allowed  to  go  to  seed 
the  second  year  it  will  entirely  disappear.  We 
recommend  the  planting  of  sweet  clover  on 
grease-wood,  alkali  or  other  poor  soils,  letting  it 
grow  only  one  to  two  feet  high  the  second  season 
and  plowing  it  under  to  increase  the  vegetable 
mold  and  nitrogen  in  the  soil. 

Dwarf  rape  is  one  of  the  valuable  forage 
plants  to  be  grown  in  the  West.  Its  use  is  en- 
tirely as  late  fall  and  early  winter  pasture.  This 
is  an  alkali  resistant  plant  of  much  value  for 
such  portions  of  the  farm  as  are  unproductive 
for  other  crops  through  the  rise  of  alkali.  Only 
dwarf  rape  should  be  planted.  Other  varieties 
have  no  value  except  for  bird  seed.  Rape  grows 
best  in  the  cooler  portions  of  the  year,  and  al- 
though a  hard  frost  wTill  stop  its  growth,  it  does 
not  destroy  its  value  as  feed.  It  may  be  planted 
either  broadcast  or  in  drills,  using  from  two  to 
four  pounds  of  seed  per  acre.  It  is  useful  as  a 
catch  crop  to  be  sown  in  the  grain  field  for  the 
production  of  pasture  after  the  grain  has  been 
harvested.  As  a  forage  it  is  especially  valuable 
for  sheep  and  hogs.  Cattle  like  and  do  well  on 
rape  pasture.  It  will  not  do  for  milch  cows,  be- 
cause milk  and  butter  become  tainted.  The 
dairy  products  will  seem  all  right  for  from 


164 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


KOHLRABI 


GRASS   FOB 

PASTURE 


twelve  to  twenty-four  hours  after  they  are  first 
fresh,  but  in  a  day  or  two  they  develop  most  un- 
pleasant odors  and  flavors  where  rape  is  pas- 
tured. Rape  is  an  annual  plant,  so  it  is  neces- 
sary to  sow  it  each  year.  Stock  will  sometimes 
eat  too  much  of  it  if  turned  into  a  field  when 
hungry,  and  in  such  case  it  causes  bloat.  Sow 
rape  any  time  up  to  the  first  of  July.  No  doubt 
the  fattening  qualities  of  rape  have  been  exag- 
gerated, but  as  pasture  or  a  forage  to  be  used  in 
connection  with  other  feeds,  it  will  give  good  re- 
turns for  the  cost  of  raising. 

As  yet  Kohlrabi  is  little  known  in  the  West, 
but  it  is  a  crop  which  will  be  valuable  for  stock 
forage.  It  is  usually  grown  in  gardens  and  used 
as  a  table  vegetable.  Kohlrabi  is  one  of  the 
more  drouth-resistant  plants  of  the  cabbage 
family,  which  produces  thickened  stems  above 
the  ground.  The  thickened  stem  and  leaves  are 
valuable  stock  feed.  It  grows  with  comparative- 
ly little  moisture,  and  may  be  either  harvested 
and  fed  to  stock  for  soiling  or  pastured  in  the 
fall.  The  seed  should  be  planted  the  same  as 
turnips,  preferably  in  drills,  and  may  be  planted 
in  the  early  spring  in  the  open  ground  or  the 
plants  raised  in  boxes  and  transplanted. 

In  the  farming  sections  of  the  West,  where 
alfalfa  is  largely  grown,  there  is  increasing  in- 
terest in  grass  pastures  for  cattle  and  sheep, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


165 


which  will  be  safer  than  alfalfa  pasture,  and 
which  will  produce  more  than  our  native  grass 
lands.  The  percentage  loss  of  cattle  or  sheep 
pastured  on  green  alfalfa  is  too  great.  Some 
ranchmen  are  becoming  interested  in  growing 
early  lambs  for  market  on  their  farms  and  others 
are  milking  cows  where  open  range  is  limited  or 


Plate  XXV.       Putting  Up  Native  Hay  in  North  Park. 

not  available.  Sage  brush  range  or  native  weeds 
do  not  give  nourishment  enough  and  also  do 
much  to  reduce  profit  and  pleasure  from  the  use 
of  the  milk,  cream,  or  butter,  and  milk  from 
cows  on  such  pasturage  is  unfit  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  cheese.  There  is  real  demand,  there- 
fore, for  tame  grasses  to  be  sown  for  pasture 
ii  lone. 


LOCAL 

CONDITIONS 

DIPPER 


There  are  many  pasture  grasses  which  suc- 
ceed in  the  West,  and  some  are  more  suitable  for 
their  localities  than  others.  We  have  found 
none  which  produce  a  large  amount  of  feed  with- 
out irrigation  or  moisture  conservation  on  our 


166  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

dry  uplands.  There  are  many  places,  however, 
where  winter  rye  succeeds  without  irrigation.  If 
planted  early  in  September,  winter  rye  will  pro- 
duce considerable  winter  and  early  spring  pas- 
ture, and  the  early  rains  supply  moisture  enough 
to  mature  a  crop  of  grain.  Several  of  the  native 
grasses,  notably  the  Western  Wheat-Grass,  can 


Plate  XXVI.     A  Field  of  Awnless  Brome  Grass. 

Dry  Grown.         Photo  by  Stimson. 

be  greatly  increased  in  unirrigated  meadows  by 
seeding  and  harrowing.  Under  irrigation,  even 
though  there  may  be  only  water  enough  for  win- 
ter flooding,  or  a  single  irrigation  in  the  summer 
season,  the  number  of  pasture  grasses  from 
which  to  choose  is  much  larger.  In  mountain 
meadows,  or  where  there  is  abundance  of  water, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


167 


GRASS 
MIXTURES 


SELLING 
HAT   BY 
MEASURE 


timothy,  redtop,  Kentucky  bluegrass,  and  or- 
chard grass  all  find  a  place.  In  many  parts  of 
the  West,  Alsike  clover  and  sainfoin  or  French 
clover  do  well,  and  they  are  said  not  to  be  dan- 
gerous to  stock  from  causing  bloat.  Brome  grass 
is  proving  of  great  value. 

As  a  rule,  if  land  is  to  be  seeded  down  to  pas- 
lure,  a  mixture  of  suitable  grasses  will  give  bet- 
ter results  than  planting  a  single  variety.  Where 
a  moderate  amount  of  irrigation  can  be  given  the 
land,  we  suggest  a  mixture  of  Slender  WTieat- 
Grass,  six  pounds ;  Tall  Meadow  Fescue,  six 
pounds;  Brome-Grass,  the  Awnless  Brome- 
Grass,  or  the  Western  Brome-Grass,  six  pounds ; 
Kentucky  bluegrass,  four  pounds ;  and  to  this 
may  be  added  of  Sand  or  Hairy  Vetch,  eight 
pounds.  This  makes  a  total  of  thirty  pounds  of 
seed  per  acre,  and  we  suggest  trying  the  Vetch 
on  a  part  of  the  land  until  its  merit  may  be 
tested.  An  irrigated  meadow  planted  to  these 
grasses  may  become  sod-bound  after  a  few  years, 
but  this  can  be  avoided  by  properly  discing  or 
harrowing  the  sod. 

There  are  few  western  ranches  where  the  fa- 
cilities for  weighing  hay  are  present  or  conven- 
ient. On  our  larger  ranches  where  wagon  scales 
have  been  purchased,  the  owners  seldom  go  to 
the  trouble  of  weighing  the  hay  which  they  sell 
from  the  stack.  It  is  probable  that  the  usual 


168 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


method  of  measuring  hay  seldom  gives  accurate 
results.  In  the  first  place,  the  measurement 
itself  is  only  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  cubic 
feet  of  hay  in  the  mow  or  stack ;  in  the  second 
place,  the  number  of  cubic  feet  of  hay  which  is 
required  to  weigh  a  ton  varies  greatly.  If  a 
mow  is  full  of  hay,  it  may  be  squared  up.  Sim- 
ply multiply  the  height  by  the  width,  and  this  by 
the  length,  which  will  give  the  total  number  of 
cubic  feet.  Stacks  in  the  field,  however,  have  no 
square  sides  or  peaked  top.  There  are  five 
methods  in  general  use  for  measuring  stacks : 

First,  the  one  known  to  most  farmers  is  to 
measure  the  distance  over  the  stack  by  throwing 
a  rope  or  a  tape  over  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
letting  it  come  to  the  ground.  To  this  distance 
add  the  width  of  the  stack,  in  feet;  divide  by 
four  to  get  the  square  of  the  end  of  the  stack ; 
square  this  number  to  get  the  square  feet,  and 
multiply  by  the  length  to  determine  the  total 
number  of  cubic  feet. 

Second,  take  one- third  of  the  over  and  mul- 
tiply by  the  wTidth  for  the  end  surface,  and  mul- 
tiply this  result  by  the  length. 

Third,  subtract  the  width  from  the  distance 
over ;  divide  by  two  for  the  height ;  multiply  this 
by  the  width,  and  this  product  by  the  length. 

Fourth,  multiply  the  width  of  the  stack  by 
the  distance  over,  and  this  product  by  the  length 
and  divide  by  four.  This  method  has  been 


170  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

found  to  give  results  too  small,  sometimes  as 
much  as  thirty  per  cent. 

BEST  The  formula  worked  out  by  the  Bureau  of 

ME™URING       Plant  Industry  of  the  U.  &  Department  of  Agri- 
HAY  culture  is  given  as  follows : 

0.225  (O— W)  OWL  -r-  II.  O  is  the  dis- 
tance over  the  stack ;  W  is  the  width ;  L  the 
length,  and  H  the  height.  First,  substract  the 
width  from  the  distance  over ;  then  multiply  by 
the  distance  over;  this  by  the  width,  and  this 
product  by  the  length,  and  this  whole  product  by 
the  fraction  0.225,  and  divide  the  result  by  the 
height  of  the  stack.  All  the  measurements  must 
be  in  feet  and  fractions  of  a  foot.  Working  out 
the  problem  in  this  way  gives  the  total  number 
of  cubic  feet  in  the  stack. 

It  is  claimed  that  this  rule  gives  results 
with  not  more  than  from  two  to  four  per  cent, 
error.  The  number  of  cubic  feet  making  a  ton 
of  hay  is  divided  into  the  total  number  of  cubic 
feet  in  the  stack  to  determine  the  number  of 
tons. 

NUMBER  OP  The  cubic  feet  of  hay  making  a  ton  will  vary 

with  tlie  amoimt  of  time  tne  naJ  lias  settled, 
with  the  kind  of  hay,  with  the  amount  of  moist- 
ure it  contains,  with  the  weather  and  various 
other  factors.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  500 
cubic  feet  of  well  pressed  timothy  hay  is  re- 
quired to  make  a  ton.  When  the  timothy  is  first 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  171 

put  into  the  stack,  or  if  it  is  too  ripe,  coarse,  or 
loose,  it  will  take  seven  hundred  cubic  feet.  For 
alfalfa  which  has  settled  thirty  to  sixty  days, 
Ave  usually  figure  as  a  ton  a  cube  eight  feet  on  a 
side,  or  512  cubic  feet.  For  fine  native  hay  or 
alfalfa  that  has  settled  six  months  or  more,  a 
cube  seven  and  one-half  feet  on  a  side,  or  422 
cubic  feet  is  considered  sufficient  for  a  ton. 
Some  native  hay  will  be  found  heavier  than  this. 
It  is  probable  that  the  general  estimate  of  512 
cubic  feet  would  give  but  small  error  for  good  al- 
falfa hay. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


BARLEY 


GRAINS. 

The  grains  are  our  most  highly  domesticated  plants. 
Their  wild  forms  are  not  known  and  they  would  disap- 
pear from  the  earth  if  not  cultivated  by  man. 

Barley  is  a  valuable  and  important  crop  for 
the  arid  region.  Our  bright  sunshine  and  dry  cli- 


Plate  XXVIII. 


Some  Grains  Grown  at  an  Altitude  of 
Over  7,000  Feet. 


mate  gives  all  our  grains  superior  whiteness  and 
clean  appearance.  Barley  should  be  more  gen- 
erally raised  in  the  West  as  an  export  grain  crop. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  173 

In  Europe  white  brewing  barley  is  used  for  mak- 
ing the  pale  ales  and  in  our  breweries  in  this 
country  much  of  the  eastern  barley  must  be 
bleached  before  it  is  suitable  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  beer.  Barley  produces  heavier  yields 
than  wheat  and  usually  sells  for  better  prices. 
It  is  a  short  season  crop  and  one  which  is  of 
great  value  for  stock-feeding  purposes.  The 
farmer  in  considering  barley  has  unpleasant 
thoughts  because  barley  beards  are  troublesome 
to  man  and  beast.  Perhaps  barley  has  more  dis- 
tinct types  of  grain  and  growth  than  any  other 
cereal.  There  is  wdnter  barley  and  spring  bar- 
ley ;  there  are  bearded  brewing  barleys  with  two- 
rows,  four-rows  and  six-rows.  There  are 
bearded  six-row  barleys  which  are  hulless. 
There  are  beardless  hulless  barley  and  beardless 
two-row  and  six-row  barleys  which  retain  their 
hull.  The  color  of  brewing  barley  is  white,  blue, 
and  black,  and  the  color  of  hulless  barleys  ranges 
from  purple  through  the  blues  and  greens  to 
cream  white. 

TWO-BOW  This  barley  has  not  been  very  largely  used  in 

BARLEY  the  arid  region.     It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable, 

however,  for  drouth  resistance  and  for  raising  at 
our  highest  altitudes  where  farming  is  practiced. 
This  barley  produces  a  large  head,  a  long,  strong 
beard  and  large  plump  grain  and  a  compara- 
tively soft  straw.  It  must  be  threshed  and  the 
grain  is  valuable  for  feed. 


174 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


HULLESS 
BARLEYS 


VARIETIES 

FOR 

BREWING 


There  are  several  bearded  hulless  barleys 
which  are  valuable  grain.  The  principal  one  is 
the  blue  or  purple  hulless.  This  barley  is  very 
heavy  and  at  St.  Louis  a  sample  from  Wyoming 
weighed  sixty-seven  pounds  per  bushel,  being  the 
heaviest  grain  on  exhibition  from  any  part  of 
the  world.  The  most  generally  grown  hulless 
barley  is  the  "Bald"  or  "Beardless  barley."  This 
is  a  six-row  grain  with  the  beards  aborted  into  a 
curl  or  three-cornered  scale  on  the  top  of  the 
grain.  The  principal  objection  to  this  barley  is 
that  the  heads  are  carried  on  very  weak  straw, 
and  if  allowed  to  get  too  ripe  there  is  considera- 
ble loss  by  their  breaking  off  in  the  field  or  in 
handling.  Another  objection  to  all  of  the  hulless 
barleys  is  their  hardness.  The  grains  are  so 
compact  and  hard  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
animals,  even  with  good  chewing  teeth,  to  grind 
them,  and  to  feed  successfully  they  must  be 
either  cooked,  soaked  or  ground 

The  best  brewing  barleys  we  have  grown  at 
high  altitudes  and  in  the  northern  district  of  irri- 
gated America,  are  the  two-row  types,  "Gold- 
thorpe/7  "Chevalier,"  and  "Hanna,"  One  of 
the  six-row  types  is  "Mansury."  There  are 
many  others  now  being  made  by  breeding  and 
selection,  especially  some  valuable  new  sorts 
from  Sweden,  but  they  are  not  on  the  market  and 
available  so  the  farmer  can  get  the  seed. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


175 


THE 

BEARDLESS 

BREWING 

BARLEY 


BARLEY 
CULTURE 


There  are  two  forms  of  beardless  brewing 
Inirlcv.  One  is  a  small  two-row  barley  not  yet 
in  general  cultivation  and  the  value  of  which  has 
not  been  determined.  The  other  is  a  larger  six- 
row  barley  which,  under  good  conditions,  pro- 
duces excellent  growth  of  straw  and  large,  well- 
filled  heads.  This  is  one  of  the  most  important 
feed  grains  the  western  farmer  can  produce, 
whether  he  dry  farms  or  irrigates  his  land.  The 
straw  is  soft,  sweet  and  nutritious.  The  grain 
can  be  cut  in  the  dough  stage  and  fed  to  stock  in 
the  bundle  without  threshing.  There  are  no 
beards,  and  stock  fed  a  ration  of  this  barley  in 
the  straw,  and  alfalfa,  seem  to  thrive  and  fatten 
remarkably  well.  The  objection  to  this  barley 
is  that  of  the  other  beardless  sorts.  The  heads 
become  brittle  and  break  off  or  shatter  in  hand- 
ling when  it  gets  too  ripe. 

Many  complain  that  they  do  not  get  as  good 
ciM]»>  of  barley  as  they  have  a  right  to  expect. 
This  is  generally  because  they  do  not  follow  the 
correct  method  of  culture.  Barley  needs  a  large 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  early  part  of  its 
growth.  It  needs  a  goodly  supply  of  available 
nitrogen  in  the  soil.  If  these  things  are  absent 
the  barley  injures  very  quickly.  Its  tendency, 
when  injured  by  drouth  or  lack  of  plant  food  is 
to  make  very  short  straw  and  small,  poorlj -filled 
heads.  Barley  does  not  show  its  injury  by 
drouth  as  do  other  grains  by  burning  and  shrivel- 


176 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


OATS 


VARIETIES 
OF   OATS 


ing  up.  Before  the  farmer  knows  it  his  barley 
field  may  become  too  dry  and  subsequent  irriga- 
tion does  not  make  it  recover  as  it  will  oats  or 
wheat.  Barley  soil  should  be  prepared  in  the 
fall  or  irrigated  before  plowing  in  the  spring. 
The  soil  should  be  watched  and  if  getting  dry, 
even  when  the  plants  are  very  small,  irrigation 
should  begin.  If  the  plants  are  kept  moist  until 
the  barley  is  well  headed,  irrigation  may  stop 
and  a  good  crop  will  be  secured.  Barley  may  be 
planted  on  new  soils  or  better,  on  soils  which 
have  been  in  rotation,  following  potatoes,  peas 
or  alfalfa. 

Oats  are  the  first  and  must  general  crop 
raised  by  the  arid  farmer.  Farmers  know  more, 
perhaps,  about  this  grain  than  any  other.  Oats 
are  one  of  the  best  crops  to  raise  on  sod.  They 
always  find  home  use  as  feed  for  teams  or  other 
stock,  and  there  is  usually  a  good  market  for  the 
surplus.  Oat  culture  is  as  simple  and  easy  as 
that  of  any  of  the  grains.  Early  varieties  will 
mature  with  comparatively  little  moisture,  but 
they  respond  to  frequent  irrigation  and  much 
water  better  than  other  grains.  Oats  on  sod  land 
may  be  irrigated  every  week  or  two  and  when 
they  are  high  enough  to  begin  to  shoot,  they 
should  be  thoroughly  soaked  by  a  complete  irri- 
gation. 

Perhaps  the  best  drouth  resistant  variety  for 
general  cultivation  is  the  Kherson  or  the  Swed- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


177 


ish  Select.  Some  most  excellent  short-season 
varieties  also  are  Scottish  Chief,  Lincoln,  Black 
Beauty,  Big  Four,  and  Clydesdale.  The  best 
yielding  varieties  are  those  which  take  the  longer 
season  to  mature.  The  White  Russian  side-oat 
has  produced  heavier  yields,  perhaps,  than  any 
other  in  general  cultivation. 

Wheat  is  one  of  the  most  important  grain 
crops  for  the  western  dry  farm  and  has  its  place 
in  crop  rotations  under  irrigation.  The  average 
yield  of  wheat  in  the  arid  region  approximates 
twenty-five  bushels  per  acre.  In  round  numbers 
this  is  twice  the  average,  yield  of  the  humid 
states.  Good  farmers,  however,  are  not  satisfied 
with  yields  of  less  than  forty  or  fifty  bushels  per 
acre.  Wheat  should  give  a  net  profit  over  and 
above  the  expense  of  producing  it,  of  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  dollars  per  acre. 

Wheats  succeed  best  on  heavier  soils,  provid- 
ing they  have  good  drainage  and  do  not  contain 
too  much  alkali.  Light  soils  are  not  so  favora- 
ble for  wheat,  but  under  dry  farming  loamy  soils 
which  are  somewhat  more  retentive  of  moisture 
will  give  best  results.  Our  soils  are  sufficiently 
rich  in  mineral  plant  foods,  the  only  fertilizing 
needed  being  tillage  and  rotation  with  peas,  al- 
falfa or  potatoes.  Wheat  ought  never  to  follow 
other  grains  and  there  should  seldom  be  raised 
two  successive  crops  of  wheat  on  the  same  land. 


178 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


PREPARA- 
TION  OP 
SOIL. 


Wheat  succeeds  much  better  in  a  well  com- 
pacted soil.     Fall  plowing  or  early  spring  plow- 


Turkey  Red.  Red  Cross. 

Plate  XXIX.      Winter  Wheats.  Dry  Grown, 

New  Castle,  Wyo. 

ing  will  usually  give  best  results.  Under  irri- 
gation deep  plowing  is  not  so  necessary  or  advis- 
able as  it  is  for  other  crops.  The  land  should  be 
harrowed  to  form  a  good  seed  bed  and  save 
moisture. 


VARIETIES 
OP   WHEAT 


There  are  a  large  number  of  varieties  of 
spring  wheat  which  may  be  successfully  grown 
in  the  West.  In  Utah,  eastern  Oregon,  Wash- 
ington and  in  the  Southwest,  the  square 
head  wheats  or  club  wheats  are  grown  because 


££ 

si 


e* 


180  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

they  do  not  shell  out  and  may  be  allowed  to  get 
fully  ripe  in  the  field  so  they  may  be  harvested 
with  combined  harvesters  and  threshers,  or 
headed  and  taken  at  once  to  the  threshing  ma- 
chine. In  the  northern  portion  of  the  mountain 
region  the  Fife  and  Blue  Stem,  known  as  North- 
ern Hard  wheats  are  the  best  milling  sorts.  For 
the  southern  half  of  this  region  wheats  of  the 
Defiance  type  or  White  Touse  are  the  leading 
varieties.  For  dry  farming  the  most  successful 
and  valuable  spring  wheat  is  the  Kubanka  type 
of  Durum  wheat.  For  feeding  purposes,  the 
Macaroni,  Polish,  and  Egyptian  wheats  are  val- 
uable drouth  resistant  kinds.  As  yet  there  is 
only  one  variety  of  winter  wheat  which  can  be 
recommended  for  general  planting.  This  is 
Turkey  Ked,  which  is  a  fine  milling  wheat,  and 
succeeds  under  both  systems  of  dry  farming  and 
irrigation.  Karkof  winter  wheat  is  being  tried 
and  so  far  all  reports  are  most  favorable.  The 
Silver  King,  which  is  a  beardless  winter  wheat, 
has  succeeded  fairly  well  in  some  sections  of  the 
West. 

PLANTING  Seed  wheat  should  be  plump,  heavy,  true  to 

type,  clean,  free  from  weed  seeds  or  other  grain, 
and  treated  for  smut.  (See  Chap.  18.)  The 
average  amount  of  seed  to  use  per  acre  on  irri- 
gated farms  is  about  seventy  pounds.  Of  the 
larger  standard  kinds,  like  Macaroni  or  Polish 
wheat,  ninety  to  one  hundred  pounds  may  be 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  181 

used,  and  for  dry  farming,  thirty  to  forty  pounds 
of  seed  per  acre.  These  figures  are  good  average 
amounts  to  use  if  sown  with  a  press  drill.  If 
necessary  to  sow  broadcast  a  third  more  of  seed 
>hould  be  used.  On  rich  lands  with  rotation  and 
irrigation,  only  thirty  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  of 
spring  wheat  gives  maximum  yields. 

The  time  to  sow  wheat  is  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  ground  can  be  prepared  and  when 
danger  of  hard  freezing  of  the  soil  is  past.  The 
seed  should  be  drilled  two  to  three  inches  deep. 
Winter  wheat  may  be  sown  any  time  in  Septem- 
ber if  the  ground  is  moist  and  the  seed  bed  well 
prepared.  If  the  land  slopes  so  much  that  it 
\\  a>hes  badly,  the  drill  should  be  along  the  hill 
in-read  of  straight  up  and  down  it,  so  the  grow- 
ing plants  will  check  the  force  of  water. 

IRRIGATION  There  should  be  sufficient  moisture  in    the 

OP  WHEAT  so'}  fo  secure  seed  germination  and  to  supply  the 
plants  until  they  become  well  established.  If 
the  ground  is  dry  and  there  is  not  sufficient 
spring  rain,  the  land  should  be  irrigated  before 
the  wheat  is  planted.  The  plants  should  not  be 
allowed  to  suffer  for  water,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  better  not  to  irrigate  them  until  they 
are  five  or  six  inches  high  or  large  enough  to  par- 
tially shade  the  ground.  Short,  quick  irrigations, 
which  soak  the  ground  pretty  well  are  better 
than  allowing  the  water  to  run  too  long.  Gen- 
erally, irrigation  should  be  given  when  the  plants 


182 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


TIME    TO 

HARVEST 

WHEAT 


WHEAT  AS 
FEED 


begin  to  shoot,  that  is,  when  the  first  stems  begin 
to  be  thrown  up.  Another  irrigation  should  be 
given  after  the  heads  are  formed  to  insure  large 
heads  and  filling  of  the  grain.  If  the  weather 
is  very  dry  and  hot,  cars  must  be  taken  with  late 
irrigations  of  wheat,  because  if  kept  too  wet  at 
this  time  it  might  induce  rust  to  cause  consider- 
able damage.  Where  the  straw  is  badly  rusted 
it  seldom  produces  plump  wheat  and  if  rust  is 
present  it  is  probably  better  to  keep  the  water  off. 
Some  farmers  in  the  southwest  believe  that  the 
shattering  of  the  grain  may  be  largely  prevented 
by  giving  late  irrigation.  This  is  true  because 
the  grain  does  not  get  so  ripe.  In  many  cases 
late  irrigation  may  result  in  damage  by  frost. 

Wheat  should  be  harvested  before  it  gets  too 
ripe.  Experience  indicates  that  the  best  results 
are  obtained  by  cutting  wheat  in  the  last  part  of 
the  dough  stage.  Such  grain  usually  ripens  in 
the  straw  and  makes  heavier  seed.  Harvesting 
early  prevents  loss  by  shattering.  East  of  the 
mountains  it  is  wrell  to  allow  the  bundles  to  stand 
in  the  shock  for  some  time  to  go  through  the 
sweat  and  dry  out  before  stacking. 

If  properly  fed  wheat  has  been  shown  equal 
to  corn  for  fattening  stock.  Some  successful 
feeders  in  the  West  head  their  wheat  and  feed  it 
to  stock  without  threshing.  This  is  one  of  the 
best  methods  of  feeding  wheat,  as  it  is  not  so  apt 


II 


S  3 


184  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

to  throw  animals  "off  feed/'  as  giving  them  the 
cleaned  grain.  Some  of  the  beardless  wheats 
may  be  fed  in  the  bundle.  Bearded  sorts  will 
need  to  be  threshed. 

Eye  is  not  appreciated  as  it  should  be.  In 
the  West,  rye  is  not  raised  to  any  extent  for  the 
production  of  flour.  There  is  some  prejudice 
against  rye  as  stock  food.  There  is,  perhaps,  no 
more  valuable  grain  for  the  feeding  of  swine 
than  rye  and  it  should  be  more  generally  raised 
for  this  purpose.  Rye  hay  is  of  much  value  in 
some  sections.  When  raised  for  hay  it  should 
be  planted  thick  and  cut  when  in  the  milk  or 
early  dough  stage.  The  winter  rye  is  one  of  our 
most  hardy  grains  and  one  of  the  most  important 
ones  for  the  dry  farmer.  It  succeeds  in  almost 
any  part  of  the  arid  region,  and  on  new  dry  farm 
lands  produces  over  forty  bushels  per  acre  as  a 
maximum  crop.  Rye  sometimes  lives  several 
years  and  produces  a  number  of  crops  with  one 
planting  if  cut  in  its  early  stages. 

Rye  may  be  planted  early  in  the  fall,  the  last 
CULTURE  Of  August  or  any  time  during  September,  and 

the  young  growth  may  be  used  for  pasturing 
stock  either  in  late  fall  or  early  spring.  The 
ground  should  be  well  filled  with  moisture  be- 
fore the  rye  is  planted,  but  this  crop  will  stand 
winter  drouth  and  cold.  It  should  be  harrowed 
one  or  more  times  in  the  spring  and  if  water  can 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  185 

be  had  for  irrigation  and  there  is  not  abundant 
rainfall,  it  should  be  irrigated  about  twice./*  The 
first  irrigation  should  be  a  thorough  soaking 
when  the  rye  is  in  the  "boot"  or  begins  to 
"shoot."  The  last  irrigation  may  be  given  when 
the  rye  is  in  the  early  dough  stage  to  fill  it  and 
make  an  abundant  crop.^Rye  will  grow  on 
poorer  soils  than  any  other  grain,  and  even  un- 
der most  adverse  conditions  will  give  some  kind 
of  crop.  As  yet  there  are  no  improved  varieties 
of  rye  on  our  markets.  This  grain  has  been 
bred  to  great  perfection  in  parts  of  Germany, 
where  single  farmers  have  devoted  years  to  grad- 
ing and  adapting  special  strain?  of  rye  for  their 
localities  and  soils. 

<,  De  Candolle  believes  that  Spelt  wras  the  corn, 
par  excellence  of  Pliny,  which  he  said  wras  used 
as  food  by  the  Latins  for  360  years  before  they 
knew  how  to  make  bread.^  It  has  been  cultivated 
principally  in  Germany,  where  it  is  called  Spelz 
or  Dinkel.  Spelt,  or  Emmer,  is  one  of  the  prim- 
itive forms  of  wheat,  but  resembles  barley  in 
character,  as  it  is  bearded  and  the  grain  is  held 
rightly  in  the  chaff,  little  or  none  of  it  shelling 
out  when  it  is  threshed.  Spelt  is  receiving  much 
attention  in  this  country  as  stock  food.  Much 
is  being  claimed  for  it  as  a  drouth-resistant 
grain.  The  Xorth  Dakota  Experiment  Station 
reported  that  Spelt  produced  heavy  yields,  espe- 
cially good  results  being  obtained  with  home 
grown  seed. 


186  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Analyses  made  at  the  South  Dakota  Experi- 
ment Station  shows  a  composition  resembling 
that  of  barley.  The  spring  spelt  should  yield 
from  twenty-five  to  seventy-five  bushels  threshed 
grain  per  acre.  A  new  spelt  has  been  introduced 
and  is  being  increased  and  improved,  by  breed- 
ing, in  Wyoming.  This  is  called  Black  Winter 
Emmer  and  differs  from  the  ordinary  spelt  in  its 
season  of  growth,  color,  hardiness  and  yielding 
quality.  It  is  a  winter  grain  of  great  import- 
ance, as  winter  grains  are  more  valuable  to  the 
dry  farmer. 


In  Dakota  it  has  been  found  that  spelt  fed 
EMMER-  to  steers  produced  as  good  quality  of  meat  as 

corn.  It  took  one  and  one-fourth  pounds  of 
spelt  to  equal  one  pound  of  corn  in  steer  feeding. 
In  feeding  beef  during  a  grass  period,  however, 
it  took  only  5.16  pounds  of  spelt  for  one  pound 
of  gain  and  at  the  same  time  it  took  7.03  pounds 
of  corn  for  one  pound  of  gain.  With  baby  beef 
feeding  it  took  1.84  pounds  of  spelt  to  1.69 
pounds  corn,  to  produce  one  pound  of  gain. 

In  my  own  experiments  with  lamb  feeding 
in  Colorado  a  high  value  was  shown  for  spelt. 
The  lambs  eating  spelt  consumed  more  of  both 
grain  and  alfalfa  hay  than  those  which  were  fed 
corn. 

The  following  tables  give  a  brief  statement 
of  the  results : 


AEID    AGRICULTURE. 


187 


LAMB  FEEDING  TRIALS. 

Amt.  of  feed  eaten.    Grain  eaten  for  1  Ib. 


FEED. 

Grain 
pounds 

Alfalfa 
pounds 

Gain 
pounds 

Spelt  
Corn  

.  .  .      430 
402 

889 
803 

3.03 
3.09 

Barley   

.  .  .      402 

888 

3.43 

Spelt    . 
Corn  . 

"Bui-lev 


THE  GAIN'S  AXD  COST  OF  GAIN. 

Gain  of 

Wool 

pounds 

15 

17 


Gain  of  Cost  per 

Meat      Total  gain  Ib.  of  gain 

pounds       pounds  cents 

127  142  4.28 

113  130  5.25 


20 


97 


117 


4.95 


These  experiments  show  a  high  feeding  value 
;  n'lt.  When  we  consider  that  spelt  will 
yield  from  a  third  more  to  twice  as  much  as  corn ; 
that  it  is  a  drouth-resistant  grain,  and  that  it  is 
better  suited  to  a  cool  climate  or  one  with  cool 
nights  than  corn,  its  value  in  the  arid  region  be- 
comes apparent. 


Plate  XXXII. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  POTATO 
AS  A  BUY 
LAND  CROP 


POTATO  CULTURE. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  took  the  potato  to  England.  It 
became  the  poor  man's  bread  and  meat  in  Ireland,  and 
came  back  to  America  an  Irish  Potato. 

Potatoes  can  be  produced  with  as  little  moist- 
ure as  any  of  the  general  farm  crops.  Their 


Plate  XXXIII. 


John  Gordon  and  His  Dry  Farm 
Potatoes. 


requirements  are  such  that  a  little  water  stored 
in  the  soil  will  make  sufficient  growth  of  vine, 
and  with  proper  cultivation  its  feeder  roots  will 
gather  practically  all  the  moisture  in  the  culti- 


AEID    AGRICULTURE. 


189 


AS   AN 

IRRIGATED 

CROP 


VARIETIES 


vated  area.  The  potato  is  one  of  the  more  im- 
portant and  profitable  arid  region  productions. 
So  important  has  it  become  under  irrigation  in 
certain  sections  that  its  culture  is  being  rapidly 
extended.  When  grown  under  irrigation  the 
potato  is  forced  and  rapidly  deteriorates  as  seed. 
On  this  account  there  is  large  demand  for  potato 
seed  raised  by  dry  farm  methods.  Seed  raised 
by  dry  farming,  and  used  under  irrigation, 
seems  to  do  well  the  first  and  second  years,  but 
old  potato  growers  seldom  use  the  same  seed  the 
third  year.  This  is  an  important  item  to  the 
dry  farmer  who  has  soil  and  conditions  suitable 
for  potato  culture. 

Good  crops  of  potatoes  are  raised  on  a  vari- 
ety of  soils.  We  believe  a  light  sandy  loam  is 
preferable,  but  where  late  water  can  be  supplied, 
good  crops  are  produced  on  heavier  soils.  With 
proper  cultivation  the  yields  average  from  100 
to  250  sacks  of  two  bushels  each  per  acre.  The 
cost  of  producing  the  crop  averages  about  thirty 
dollars  per  acre. 

The  main  croppers  in  the  mountain  region 
arc  the  "Ohio"  for  early  crops,  the  "Mammoth 
Pearl,"  and  "Rural  ISfew  Yorker"  for  late  crops. 
In  some  sections  the  "Burbank"  does  very 
well.  Early  varieties  are  more  used  for 
dry  farming,  but  very  few  early  potatoes 
are  grown  as  main  crops  by  irrigation. 


190  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

The  white  varieties  (Pearl  and  Eural) 
take  the  lead.  It  is  important  that  a  community 
of  farmers  who  are  just  becoming  established,  at 
least,  plant  only  one  or  two  varieties  in  order 
that  they  may  supply  a  uniform  product  to  the 
market  in  sufficient  quantities. 


Plate  XXXIV.     Potatoes  on  the  YU.  Ranch,  Big 
Horn   County,  Wyo. 

Photo  by  Stimson. 

THE  The  root  rot    (See  chapter  18,  Plant  Dis- 

TREATMENT  eases)  and  blight  are  very  common  potato  dis- 
eases and  the  first  of  these,,  at  least,  can  be  meas- 
urably controlled  by  properly  handling  and 
treating  the  seed  before  planting,  by  change  of 
seed  and  by  rotation  of  crops.  Seed  potatoes 
may  be  kept  from  sprouting  in  the  spring  by  fre- 
quently changing  their  position  in  the  root  cellar. 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CORROSIVE 

SUBLIMATE 
TREATMENT 


CUTTING 
THE   SEED 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


191 


Perhaps  one  of  the  best  treatments  that  can  be 
recommended  is  to  let  them  become  well  sun- 
burned. The  light  seems  to  destroy  the  winter 
stage  of  the  root  rot  disease.  The  farmer  can 
tell  whether  this  disease  is  present  in  abundance 
on  his  potatoes  by  the  presence  of  black  spots, 
which  look  like  particles  of  soil  that  stick  very 
riii-litly  to  the  skin  of  the  potato.  "Greening" 
the  potato  seed  also  causes  short,  strong  sprouts 
which  do  not  break  off  in  handling  and  are  ready 
for  business  as  soon  as  planted  in  moist  soil. 

Treatment  with  corrosive  sublimate  or  form- 
alin will  also  help  destroy  this  disease,  and  it  is 
n  cure  for  true  potato  scab  where  the  crop  is 
raised  on  clean  land.  Use  two  ounces  of  corro- 
sive sublimate  to  fifteen  gallons  of  water.  Dis- 
solve the  corrosive  sublimate  in  one  gallon  of 
boiling  water,  using  an  earthen  or  glass  jar.  Mix 
with  water  in  a  barrel  and  dip  the  potatoes,  leav- 
ing them  in  the  solution  one  to  one  and  one-half 
hours.  Spread  out  to  dry  before  cutting.  Cor- 
rosive sublimate  is  a  deadly  poison  and  must  be 
handled  with  great  care.  Xever  use  the  same 
vessel  for  any  other  purpose. 

Small  potatoes  may  be  used  for  seed  if  they 
are  pure  and  true  to  type,  and  will  give  as  good 
results  as  will  planting  larger  tubers.  They  may 
be  either  planted  whole  or  cut,  one  or  two  eyes  to 
the  piece.  The  best  results  in  cutting  have  been 


192 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


obtainedby  quartering  the  potato  lengthwise,  and 
if  a  cutting  block  is  used,  the  larger  ones  may  be 
quartered  by  splitting  both  ways.  Where  pota- 
toes are  planted  on  a  large  scale  a  machine  cutter 
may  be  used. 


SEED 
POTATOES 


Seed  potatoes  should  be  pure  varieties,  true 
to  type,  and  not  forced  by  irrigation.  It  is  more 
important  that  the  seed  potato  be  one  from  a 
thrifty  hill  which  contains  a  good  number  of 
potatoes  true  to  type  than  that  it  be  large  size. 
The  best  seed  for  irrigation  is  raised  by  dry 
farming  or  at  high  altitudes  in  the  mountains. 
The  seed  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  scab 
and  the  root  rot  disease,  must  not  get  chilled  or 
frosted,  and  should  be  changed  often  where  there 
is  tendency  to  run  out.  A  farmer  who  would 
raise  potatoes  successfully  must  not  hesitate  to 
pay  the  price  for  the  best  potatoes  to  renew  his 
seed. 


PREPARA- 
TION  OF 
THE   SOU. 


Potato  ground  must  be  plowed  deep.  Usually 
four  horses  are  put  on  to  a  fourteen-inch  plow 
and  the  furrow  turned  eight  or  ten  inches  deep. 
If  on  sod  ground,  five  or  six  inches  will  do  the 
first  year.  The  ground  should  be  harrowed  the 
same  day  it  is  plowed  and  the  plowing  should 
not  be  done  long  before  planting  time.  Sod 
ground  should  be  disced  before  the  plowing  is 
commenced  in  order  to  make  as  fine  a  seed  bed 
as  possible  after  it  is  turned  under.  Alfalfa 


•^••" 


Place  XXXV.     Planting   (Below),  Harvesting  (Above). 

Photos  by  Bennett. 

7 


194  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

ground  to  be  used  for  potatoes  must  be  plowed 
deep  and  a  wide,  sharp  share  used  to  cut  off  the 
roots. 

PLANTING  The  best  results  are  obtained  by  the  use  of  a 

good  potato  planter,  and  such  machinery  is  nec- 
essary, if  potatoes  are  to  be  raised  on  a  large 
scale.  The  seed  should  be  put  in  an  average 
depth  of  four  inches  when  on  dry,  sandy  soil, 
though  they  may  be  planted  six  or  seven  inches 
deep  and  still  give  good  results.  They  are  not 
planted  deep  enough  as  a  rule.  Immediately 
after  planting,  a  good  four-horse  cultivator 
should  be  run  through  between  the  rows,  loosen- 
ing the  ground  to  the  depth  of  the  plowing,  or,  if 
possible,  an  inch  or  two  deeper  than  it  was 
plowed.  Use  a  four-horse  cultivator  and  run  the 
shovels  close  to  the  rows.  Follow  the  cultiva- 
tion with  the  harrow  to  level  the  soil  and  estab- 
lish the  mulch.  Just  before  the  potatoes  come 
through  the  ground,  give  a  second  harrowing 
with  a  toothed  harrow,  slanting  the  teeth  a  little 
back.  The  seed  may  be  dropped  distances  of 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  apart  in  the  row 
and  the  rows  should  be  from  three  to  three  and 
one-half  feet  apart.  From  five  hundred  to  seven 
hundred  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  is  sufficient. 
At  higher  altitudes,  where  the  season  is  short  and 
potato  vines  make  comparatively  small  growth, 
they  may  be  planted  correspondingly  closer  to- 
gether with  the  required  increase  in  the  amount 


Plate  XXXVI.      Cultivating  (Below)   and  Ditching 
(Above). 

Photos  by  Bennett. 


196  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

of  seed.  The  largest  yield  of  which  there  is  any 
authentic  record  in  the  West  was  obtained  from 
potatoes  planted  a  distance  of  eight  inches  apart 
in  rows  two  and  one-half  feet  apart,  on  highly 
fertilized  and  cultivated  ground. 

CULTIVATION  Potatoes  should  receive  deep  and  thorough 
cultivation.  When  the  plants  are  four  or  five 
inches  high,  cultivate  deep  and  near  the  rows. 
This  should  be  done  each  week  or  ten  days,  run- 
ning the  cultivator  shovels  farther  from  the 
plants  as  they  grow  larger,  and  throwing  the  soil 
toward  the  rows.  The  ground  should  be  kept 
well  stirred  to  the  depth  of  the  plowing  between 
the  rows  until  time  for  irrigation.  Each  irriga- 
tion should  be  followed  by  shallow  cultivation  to 
break  up  the  crust  until  the  vines  get  so  large 
they  interfere. 

IRRIGATION-  Potatoes  should  not  be  irrigated  until  after 

the  young  tubers  are  set  on  the  vines,  though 
wjiere  the  season  is  so  dry  they  burn,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  irrigate  at  any  time.  The  tubers 
usually  set  a  week  or  ten  days  before  the  plants 
begin  to  bloom.  Deep  ditches  should  be  made, 
with  a  double  plow,  between  the  rows,  and  the 
first  watering  should  be  very  light.  Eun  the 
water  in  the  alternate  rows  and  in  a  week  or  ten 
days  run  a  good  head  quickly  through  the  rows 
which  were  not  irrigated  before.  This  should 
be  followed  in  from  a  week  to  twelve  days  with  a 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  197 

thorough  soaking  up  of  the  ground,  running  the 
water  between  each  of  the  rows,  but  do  not  let  it 
stand  too  long.  Water  should  never  come  in 
contact  with  the  crowns  of  the  plants.  If  a  large 
crop  is  the  principal  consideration,  the  potatoes 
should  be  irrigated  once  in  a  week  or  ten  or 
twelve  days  through  the  season  after  starting,  as 
indicated  above.  They  must  not  be  allowed  to 
get  dry  enough  to  check  their  growth.  After 
the  growth  becomes  checked  once,  new  irrigation 
will  start  second  growth,  which  produces  large 
vines,  new  setting  of  tubers  or  knotty,  ill-shaped 
potatoes.  If  it  can  be  avoided,  irrigation  should 
not  be  done  when  the  weather  is  hot  and  sultry. 

ROTATION  IN  *  Farmers  who  make  a  business  of  potato  rais- 
ing follow  a  regular  system  of  rotation  in  which 
alfalfa  is  the  crop  used  to  bring  back  the  soil  fer- 
tility. Potatoes  do  well  on  sod  land  and  one  or 
two  crops  may  be  raised.  This  should  be  fol- 
lowed with  a  crop  of  grain,  and  if  the  soil  condi- 
tions are  favorable,  alfalfa  may  be  sown  with  the 
grain.  The  alfalfa  is  left  in  the  ground  two  or 
three  years.  It  is  then  plowed  late  in  spring  after 
the  alfalfa  plants  have  started.  This  plowing  is 
difficult  and  must  be  thoroughly  done.  The  deep 
cultivation  immediately  after  plowing  will  pull 
out  the  principal  roots  and  prevent  their  inter- 
fering with  future  cultivations  or  ditching  for 
irrigation.  Such  alfalfa  ground  may  be  kept  in 
potatoes  two  years  if  disease  does  not  appear, 


198  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

and  then  put  back  into  alfalfa  with  grain.  Field 
peas  are  an  excellent  crop  to  rotate  with  potatoes 
in  dry  farming  or  under  irrigation.  Plowing 
under  a  light  crop  of  peas  in  Wyoming  increased 
the  potato  crop  thirty-one  dollars  per  acre.  Po- 
tato ground  is  usually  in  fine  condition  for  any 
following  crop. 

POTATO  Potatoes  may  be  grown  without  the  use  of 

MACHINERY  special  machinery,  but  if  any  acreage  is  raised, 
it  is  economy  to  have  the  best  equipment.  There 
are  a  number  of  planters  on  the  market.  Some 
of  the  different  makes  are  the  Robins,  Aspen- 
wall,  Superior,  Evans  and  Excelsior.  Digging 
may  be  done  with  a  potato  plow,  which  has  fin- 
gers behind,  which  are  worked  by  a -shaker,  or 
with  the  larger  machines,  like  the  Doudon  or 
Brown.  The  potatoes  may  be  sorted  by  hand 
when  picked  up,  or  all  picked  into  a  basket  and 
run  over  a  wire  screen  sorter.  Where  the  po- 
tato beetles  are  troublesome,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  some  form  of  spraying  machine  to  treat 
with  Paris  green. 

HARVESTING  Potatoes  are  usually  left  in  the  ground  some 

SORTING-  time  after  frost  has  killed  the  vines  in  the  fall. 

This  helps  to  ripen  and  dry  out  the  tubers.  They 
should  be  harvested  before  the  gro-und  begins  to 
freeze.  Where  the  potatoes  are  green,  care 
should  be  exercised  in  handling  and  a  sorter 
should  not  be  used.  If  they  are  to  go  to  market 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


199 


at  once  they  are  sorted  and  sacked  in  two  bushel 
>acks.  If  they  are  to  be  held  for  a  short  time 
;ii id  a  root  cellar  has  not  been  prepared,  they 
in  ay  be  pitted  in  the  field.  Do  not  dig  deep 
pits,  but  smooth  off  the  ground,  put  the  potatoes 
in  as  sleep  a  pile  as  possible,  cover  first  with 
straw  or  vines  and  then  with  enough  soil  to  pre- 
vent injury  by  frost.  Leave  a  small  space  at  top 
of  pile  not  covered  with  the  soil  for  the  escape  of 


Plate  XXXVII.     A  Good  Potato  Crop. 

the  heat  and  moisture  given  off  by  piled  potatoes. 
Potatoes  stored  in  this  way  will  keep  until  the 
weather  gets  quite  cold.  Where  root  cellars  are 
used,  the  potatoes  are  usually  piled  in  loose,  and 
kept  as  cool  "as  may  be  without  danger  of  freez- 
ing. 

Often  our  potatoes  grow  to  very  large  size, 
single  tubers  weighing  five  and  six  pounds  not 
beinir  uncommon.  These  very  large  potatoes  are 
not  desired  in  the  market.  The  best  sale  is 


200  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

found  for  a  medium-sized  potato  which  will  give 
from  sixty  to  seventy-five  potatoes  per  bushel  of 
sixty  pounds.  Such  potatoes  are  desired  by 
hotel  and  restaurant-keepers  for  baking  pur- 
poses. The  farmer  who  properly  grades  his 
produce  will  always  find  ready  demand  and  good 
prices.  Uniformity  in  size  and  color,  freedom 
from  scab,  crack  or  dirt,  shallow  eyes  and  pleas- 
ing shape  are  essential  to  secure  top  prices  for 
the  product. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


BEETS   A 

DIRECT 

FOOD 


SPECIAL 
GUI.  TUBE 
REQUIRED 


THE  SUGAR  BEET  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

The  luxuries  of  yesterday  become  the  necessities  of 
tomorrow.  The  main  business  of  the  farmer  is  to  sup- 
ply the  world's  necessities. 

Sugar  beets  may  be  grown  for  two  general 
purposes;  1st,  as  a  direct  food  for  stock  and 
man ;  2nd,  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  Beets 
have  been  grown  many  years  for  stock  feed,  but 
the  sugar  beet  for  manufacture  becomes  a  new 
crop,  where  factories  are  established. 

The  value  of  the  beet  as  a  supplementary  food 
for  stock  is  something  we  have  been  slow  to  learn. 
Even  after  the  sugar  has  been  extracted,  what  re- 
mains is  worth  enough  for  food  to  make  the  by- 
products valuable. 

"NYhere  beets  are  properly  raised  for  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar,  their  culture  differs  at  almost 
every  point  from  the  culture  of  alfalfa,  wheat 
and  potatoes,  which  have  been  our  staple  crops. 

The  high  sugar  content  and  purity  of  the 
sugar  beet  are  artificial  characteristics  produced 
by  years  of  special  cultivation,  selection  and 
plant  breeding.  This  has  given  rise  to  "kinks" 
in  beet  culture,  which  are  not  only  important  but 
essential  if  we  make  the  value  of  the  crop  suffi- 


202 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


BEET 
GROWING 

INTENSIVE 


ADAPTING 

CROPS 

IMPORTANT 


cient  to  meet  the  expense  of  producing  it  and 
provide  a  profit. 

Raising  sugar  beets  is  intensive  farming. 
They  cannot  be  successfully  produced  except  by 
intensive  methods.  On  this  account  sugar  beet 
culture  introduced  into  a  community  which  has 
generally  practiced  extensive  cropping,  means 
learning  something  new.  The  farmer  must  put 
aside  the  idea  that  his  experience  with  other 
crops  will  enable  him  to  grow  sugar  beets  suc- 
cessfully. He  must  follow  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  long  practiced  beet  culture  if  he 
hopes  for  success. 

The  German  who  said  that  the  Americans 
could  not  grow  sugar  beets  because  they  would 
not  get  down  on  their  knees  to  hoe,  has  given  us 
some  idea  of  the  essential  difference  between  beet 
culture  and  the  culture  of  our  ordinary  crops. 
While  there  is  a  right  method  of  beet  culture,  un- 
doubtedly general  practice  may  be  somewhat 
modified  by  the  peculiar  conditions  of  each  local- 
ity. Experience  in  other  places  is  valuable,  but 
not  always  infallible. 

We  have  much  to  gain  by  creating  races  and 
varieties  of  plants  which  will  be  fully  at  home 
and  adapted  to  our  soil,  climate  and  system  of 
irrigation.  It  has  taken  long  years  of  careful 
breeding  and  cultivation  to  produce  the  sugar 
beet  of  today.  The  amount  of  sugar  it  contains 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


203 


has  been  quadrupled  and  other  solids  eliminated 
until  it  has  great  purity.  At  the  same  time  the 
beet  has  taken  on  desirable  shape  and  size.  To 
grow  them  properly  the  farmer  must  carefully, 
honestly  and  persistently  follow  out  rules  of  beet 
culture,  perhaps  with  some  intelligent  modifica- 
tion. 


Plate  XXXVIII.     A  Perfect  Shaped  Sugar  Beet. 

It  will  probably  take  thoughtful  farmers 
three  years  to  learn  to  grow  beets.  You  may 
make  a  good  profit  before  you  learn  how  to  grow 
the  beets,  but  your  profit  will  not  be  as  large  as 
after  a  little  experience. 


204 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


AVERAGE  An  average  crop  of  anything  is  not  highly 

PROFITABLE  profitable.  The  man  who  gets  only  an  average 
crop  should  be  well  satisfied  if  he  makes  ex- 
penses, and  should  rejoice  over  an  additional  3 
per  cent,  gain  on  his  investment.  The  average 
crop  of  potatoes  for  the  United  States  is  about 
64  bushels  per  acre,  say  38  sacks.  In  our  best 
potato  districts  under  irrigation  the  cost  of  rais- 
ing an  acre  of  potatoes  is  about  $30.00.  There 
are  not  many  farmers  in  the  West  who  would  go 
into  their  fields  rejoicing,  to  harvest  less  than  38 
sacks  of  potatoes  per  acre. 

If  the  crop  of  sugar  beets  averages  only  10 
tons  per  acre,  worth  an  average  of  $4.50  per  ton, 
there  may  or  may  not  be  a  cash  profit  in  raising 
them.  It  will  depend  on  whether  it  has  cost  $30 
or  $50  to  grow  and  market  the  beets.  Good 
farmers  in  beet-raising  sections  will  probably 
produce  more  than  twenty  tons  and  possibly 
twice  that  in  some  cases  with  little  increase  in 
the  cost.  Where  this  occurs  they  will  bring 
magnificent  profits  and  boom  the  bank  account. 

The  main  idea  is,  of  course,  the  immediate 
money  value  of  the  crop.  While  this  part  of  the 
reward  will,  undoubtedly,  be  highly  pleasing  to 
the  man  who  properly  grows  his  beets,  it  is  not 
the  only  thing  to  be  gained  from  beet  farming. 

BEETS  AND  Where  sugar  beets  are  grown  for  a  factory, 

producing  them,  more  than  the  raising  of  almost 
any  other  crop,  brings  prosperity  to  a  commun- 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


205 


MONET  PUT 

INTO 

CIRCULATION 


SOMETHING 
TO  BE 

LEARNED 


ity.  This  is  not  due  alone  to  the  money  reward 
to  the  grower.  There  are  several  ways  in  which 
growing  beets  differs  from  the  growing  of  other 
crops  in  the  ultimate  result  to  our  agriculture. 

First — The  more  money  handled  in  a  way 
which  puts  it  into  wide  circulation,  in  any  busi- 
ness, the  greater  is  the  commercial  and  social 
activity.  This  is  the  reason  that  manufacturing 
and  trade  centers  are  prosperous.  Growing 
beets  requires  intensive  cultivation.  If  a  farm- 
er raises  10  acres  of  sugar  beets  as  they  should  be 
managed,  it  means  the  expenditure  of  $300  to 
$500,  much  of  which  is  paid  for  labor.  In  a 
beet-growing  community  everyone  is  employed, 
everyone  has  some  money  to  spend,  and  real  es- 
tate, the  merchant,  the  barber,  the  church  and 
the  school  respond  to  the  magic.  The  establish- 
ment of  successful  factories  have  always  resulted 
in  improved  conditions. 

Second — There  is  an  important  educational 
feature  about  growing  beets.  The  farmer  who 
raises  them  learns  something  new  about  agricul- 
ture. Some  of  the  underlying  principles  of  his 
high  calling  are  forcibly  brought  to  mind.  He 
has  known  in  a  general  way  that  plants  are  sen- 
sitive to  conditions  of  soil  and  climate.  He  has 
read  Mark  Twain's  way  of  putting  it,  w7hsn  he 
makes  Puddin'  Head  Wilson  say:  "Training  is 
everything ;  the  peach  was  once  a  bitter  almond, 


206 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


and  the  cauliflower  is  nothing  but  cabbage  with 
a  college  education." 

He  is  now  becoming  acquainted  with  a  sugar 
beet  which  was  once  an  annual  weed  growing  on 
the  seacoast,  and  the  things  he  learns  are  too 
numerous  to  mention. 


PROFIT  FROM 

SMALLER 
AREAS 


GROWING 

BEETS 

IMPROVES 

LAND 


The  bringing  of  some  of  thi&  land  under  in- 
tensive cultivation  to  gain  larger  profits  from 
smaller  areas  is  a  most  important  lesson  for  the 
irrigation  farmer.  We  will  have  more  people, 
more  happiness  and  more  general  prosperity 
when  we  have  fully  reached  the  realization  that 
more  of  everything  we  work  for  can  be  obtained 
from  an  irrigated  farm  of  twenty  acres  properly 
managed  than  from  an  hundred  or  a  thousand 
acres  which  keeps  a  man  both  skin  poor  and  pen- 
niless. This  is  one  of  the  last  and  hardest  les- 
sons the  arid  land  farmer,  who  comes  from  re- 
gions where  the  more  land  the  more  wealth  prin- 
ciple prevails,  has  to  learn. 

Third — The  continual  stirring  of  the  soil  by 
the  plowing,  sub-soiling,  planting,  thinning  hoe- 
ing, irrigating,  cultivating  and  harvesting,  im- 
proves the  land.  Jethro  Tull,  in  England,  taught 
that  thorough  tillage  was  the  only  thing  neces- 
sary to  make  the  soil  everlastingly  productive, 
and  he  was  not  far  wrong,  especially  when  the 
principle  is  applied  to  arid  soil,  containing  as  it 
does,  practically  all  the  plant  foods  that  were  in 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


207 


RAISING 
DIVERSITY 
OF   CROPS 

ADVISABLE 


SUGAR  BOTH 
A  LUXURY 
AMD  A 
NECESSITY 


BEETS  WILL 
GROW  ON 

ALKALI 
LAND 


the  rocks  from  which  it  was  formed,  instead  of 
having  had  its  nutritious  salts  washed  into  the 
sea.  This  stirring  of  the  soil  saves  moisture  and 
does  numerous  other  things  to  improve  the  land. 
It  could  hardly  be  better  prepared  for  the  sup- 
port of  any  crop  we  may  wish  to  grow  on  it.  I 
know  of  no  better  clean  culture  crop  for  a  rota- 
tion, than  the  sugar  beet. 

Fourth — Growing  sugar  beets  adds  a  crop  to 
those  usually  produced  on  a  farm.  It  does  not 
take  the  place  of  other  crops,  but  adds  a  new  one. 
Diversifying  the  crop  does  many  things  for  the 
farmer.  He  uses  his  land  and  employs  his  labor 
to  better  advantage.  If  he  has  several  crops  and 
one  fails  he  can  better  afford  to  stand  the  loss, 
as  there  are  others  which  secure  an  income. 

Fifth — There  is  usually  more  money  made 
by  producing  luxuries  than  anything  else.  Sugar 
is  both  a  concentrated  food  and  one  of  our  great- 
est luxuries.  The  people  of  England  use  one- 
third  more  sugar  per  capita  than  the  people  in 
the  United  States.  A  few  years  ago  an  estimate 
was  made  that  it  would  require  TOO  additional 
factories  to  supply  our  demand,  and  that  demand 
is  continually  increasing.  It  seems  that  there 
can  be  no  possible  danger  of  glutting  the  market. 

Sixth — Finally,  sugar  beets  fill  a  niche  in 
our  farming  not  filled  by  any  other  crop.  They 
belong  to  a  family  of  plants  which  rejoice  in 


208  AEID    AGRICULTURE. 

salty  soils  and  will  grow  on  our  alkali  lands. 
Farmers  generally  in  irrigated  regions  know 
what  it  is  to  see  portions  of  the  farm  becoming 
less  productive  through  the  rise  of  alkali  to  the 
surface.  I  know  of  no  valuable  crop,  unless  it 
is  English  Rape,  which  will  grow  in  as  strong 
alkali  as  will  the  sugar  beet.  Nor  does  the  com- 
mon, wrhite  alkali  of  this  region  injure  the  beets 
in  any  way,  except  that  these  salts  may  retard 
or  prevent  the  germination  of  the  seed.  If  such 
land  is  to  be  planted  to  beets  the  surface  should 
have  the  salts  washed  out  so  that  they  will  not 
be  in  concentrated  form  around  the  seed.  Flood- 
ing water  over  the  land  will  wash  off  the  surface 
salt  or  dilute  it  and  carry  it  back  into  the  soil. 
Then  the  application  of  a  dressing  of  manure  to 
mix  with  the  surface  soil  will  help  the  land,  pre- 
vent the  rapid  rise  of  salt  again  and  enable  the 
seeds  to  properly  germinate.  After  the  plants 
become  well  established  the  salts  will  do  no  harm 
if  the  soil  can  be  kept  in  a  good  state  of  tilth. 


SUGAR  BEET  •£  he  }an(j  for  SUgar  beets  should  be  prepared 

CULTURE  ,  . 

in  the  fall.  After  the  season  s  crop  is  removed, 
manure  should  be  applied  at  the  rate  of  ten  to 
thirty  loads  per  acre,  the  amount  depending 
upon  how  green  and  strong  it  is.  Manure  from 
the  sheep  corrals  is  of  the  best  for  this  purpose. 
We  are  not  afraid  of  getting  the  ground  too  rich, 
but  the  danger  lies  in  getting  it  too  porous,  thus 
allowing  it  to  dry  out  quickly,  especially  in  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


209 


FERTILIZING 


FLOWING 


IRRIGATING 
LAND 


HARROWING 

LAND 


ROLLING 


early  spring.  The  manure  should  be  plowed  un- 
der in  the  fall  if  possible,  even  if  the  ground  is 
very  dry.  It  is  better  to  sharpen  the  plow  share 
for  each  acre  and  get  the  land  plowed  deep, 
eight  to  twelve  inches  is  best,  but  if  the  ground 
has  previously  been  plowed  five  or  six  inches,  not 
more  than  two  inches  of  the  under  soil  should  be 
turned  to  the  surface,  because  it  is  poor  in  veget- 
able matter  and  fertility,  so  the  young  beet  will 
not  get  an  early  start  and  vigorous  growth. 

After  the  ground  is  plowed  and  harrowed,  it 
should,  if  possible,  be  irrigated  in  the  fall.  The 
moisture  left  in  the  ground  from  this  irrigation 
will  be  sufficient  to  germinate  the  seed  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  The  ground  will  be  pulverized 
by  the  frost  and  when  harrowed  in  the  spring 
will  be  in  the  best  condition  for  the  reception  of 
the  seed.  The  ground  should  be  leveled  so  it 
may  be  easily  irrigated.  The  work  done  in  get- 
tin  o-  the  ground  in  the  best  possible  condition  is 
profitably  spent.  ~No  amount  of  work  afterwards 
will  make  up  for  the  lack  of  care  in  this. 

Some  roll  the  ground  before,  and  some  after 
seeding.  This  is  usually  a  detriment  to  the 
crop.  The  harrow  marks  should  be  left  in  the 
field.  The  soil  is  generally  left  loose  on  top 
and  evaporation  is  prevented  by  this  earth  mulch. 
The  spring  winds  will  not  gather  up  the  sand  and 
fine  particles  of  earth  and  slide  them  along  the 


210 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


USE  CLEAN 
GROUND 


TIME  TO 

PLANT 


surface  of  the  ground,  cutting  off  the  young 
beets,  as  they  do  when  the  ground  has  been 
flooded  or  when  it  has  been  rolled.  When  the 
last  harrowing  is  done,  drive  so  the  harrow  runs 
cross-ways  of  the  prevailing  direction  of  the 
spring  winds. 

Before  planting  your  seeds  be  sure  that  the 
ground  is  free  from  sticks  and  all  trash;  go 
around  with  a  wagon  and  pick  this  trash  off.  It 
will  catch  in  your  cultivator  and  before  you  can 
stop  you  have  lost  several  feet  in  a  row  of  beets. 
The  damage  is  done.  You  have  lost  money.  Al- 
falfa roots  are  like  leather  on  your  horse  hoes. 
They  will  not  be  cut  in  two,  but  drag  out  and 
destroy  the  young  plants.  If  you  use  alfalfa 
ground  for  your  beets,  plow  the  alfalfa  as  shal- 
low as  possible  and  still  get  all  the  roots  cut.  Fol- 
low with  the  harrow,  harrowing  out  all  roots  and 
cart  them  off  the  land.  Replow  the  ground  three 
or  four  inches  deeper  than  the  first  plowing  and 
prepare  the  same  as  other  ground.  Alfalfa 
ground,  fresh  from  the  sod,  produces  fine  beets, 
rich  in  sugar. 

Beets  should  be  planted  early.  Plant  as 
soon  as  danger  of  freezing  weather  is  over.  A 
frost  will  not  injure  the  young  beets,  but  a  freeze 
so  hard  that  the  ground  is  frozen  one-fourth  inch 
or  more  deep  will  kill  the  beets.  The  beets 
should  be  out  of  the  ground  and  as  far  along  as 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  211 

any  of  the  weeds  when  it  is  time  for  the  cultiva- 
tor to  start.  The  early  planted  beet  gets  a  good 
start  and  shades  the  ground  before  hot  weather 
begins. 

The  seed  should  be  sown  with  the  regular 
sugar  beet  drills,  in  drills  18  to  20  inches  apart, 
and  1  inch  to  1%  inches  in  depth.  Spacing  the 
rows  16  inches  and  24  inches  apart  in  order  to 
furrow  and  irrigate  between  the  wider  alternate 
rows  is  a  convenience  on  level  ground  where  it 
can  be  applied. 

These  drills  sow  four  rows  at  once  and  have 
two  small  wheels  following  each  shoe  of  the 
drill,  one  on  either  side,  and  about  one  inch 
from  the  center  of  the  shoe.  These  firm  the  soil 
about  the  seed  and  tend  to  bring  the  moisture  to 
it,  insuring  an  early  germination.  The  beet 
seed  requires  considerable  moisture  before  it  will 
start,  and  it  should  never  lack  for  moisture  from 
the  time  it  begins  growth  until  the  crop  is  "laid 
by"  in  August.  The  seed  should  be  sown  at  the 
rate  of  20  pounds  per  acre.  It  is  poor  economy 
to  try  to  save  seed.  This  amount  of  seed  will 
produce  many  more  plants  than  are  desired,  but 
it  insures  plants  over  the  entire  length  of  the 
row,  which,  when  thinned,  should  result  in  a 
nearly  perfect  stand. 

If  a  crust  has  formed  over  the  ground  from 
rain  or  irrigation,  each  seed  which  grows  will 
help  the  others,  and  all  working  together  will 


212 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


IRRIGATING 
SEED 


HARROWING 


push  hard  enough  to  break  the  crust  so  that  the 
plants  may  get  through.  The  importance  of  a 
good  thick  stand  of  beets  cannot  be  over-esti- 
mated. In  this  lies  the  profit.  It  costs  no  more 
to  grow,  and  little  more  to  harvest,  a  crop  of  30 
tons  per  acre  than  it  does  a  crop  of  10  tons.  The 
one  crop  yields  a  profit  of  $60  to  $70  per  acre, 
the  other  but  pays  the  rent  of  the  land  and  cost 
of  growing. 

If  the  ground  is  dry  when  the  beets  are 
planted,  don't  wait  long  for  a  rain,  but  turn  on 
the  water.  The  beets  will  be  coming  up  in  ten 
days  or  two  weeks.  The  soil  is  likely  to  bake  if 
irrigated,  but  you  can  follow  by  another  irriga- 
tion, or  if  the  plants  are  up  so  the  rows  can  be 
seen,  start  the  cultivator  and  use  the  horse  "hoes" 
and  "duck  feet,"  or  the  "spiders/7  running  the 
hoes  as  close  to  the  rows  as  possible. 

Some  practice  harrowing  to  break  tne  crust. 
This  should  never  be  done  lengthwise  of  the  row, 
for  a  harrow  tooth  getting  in  the  row  will  drag 
out  the  beets  for  several  feet.  Harrowing  is  a 
bad  practice ;  it  injures  the  stand  and  kills  beets 
in  many  places  where  it  is  desirable  that  they 
should  grow.  Don't  harrow  your  beets,  use  the 
cultivator. 

When  the  plants  show  four  to  six  leaves  the 
thinning  should  begin.  The  quicker  the  farmer 


214  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

gets  this  done  the  better  for  his  crop.  The  beets 
are  first  spaced.  This  is  done  with  a  five  or  six 
inch  hoe,  the  man  striking  the  hoe  so  it  will  cut 
off  the  beets  an  inch  below  the  surface,  leaving 
two  inches  of  the  row  of  beets  between  each  hoe 
mark.  The  spacing  must  be  done  quickly.  A 
good  man  will  keep  on  a  slow  walk,  a  mile  an 
hour,  and  space  as  he  goes.  It  does  not  pay  to 
strike  the  hoe  twice  in  the  same  place.  Keep  a 
file  handy  and  have  the  hoe  sharp.  Files  and 
hoes  are  cheaper  than  labor.  After  a  few  rows 
are  spaced,  the  spacer  learns  to  strike  the  hoe  in 
the  row  wherever  desired.  The  spacer  is  fol- 
lowed by  thinner s.  Pull  out  all  but  one  beet, 
disturbing  the  beet  left  in  the  ground  as  little  as 
possible.  Leave  the  beets  seven  or  eight  inches 
apart  in  the  row.  Some  now  advise  leaving  the 
beets  10  or  12  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  It  is 
not  wise  to  leave  more  than  one  beet  in  a  place, 
as  the  two,  if  left,  will  not  equal  in  weight  a  sin- 
gle beet  alone,  and  it  is  quicker  at  harvest  time 
to  top  a  single  large  beet  than  two  small  ones. 
In  pulling  the  beets  be  sure  to  get  them  out  by 
the  root.  If  the  tops  are  pulled  off,  they  will 
grow  again  and  your  labor  has  been  done  in  vain. 
A  good  spry  man  will  space  and  thin  an  acre  in 
three  days.  It  takes  most  men  four  days  or 
more. 

CULTIVATION          The  cuitivator  should  be  started  as  soon  as 
the  rows  can  be  seen,  using  the  "hoes"  and  "duck 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  215 

feet."  Early  cultivation  kills  all  weeds  in  sight, 
as  well  as  great  numbers  that  have  germinated, 
but  are  still  under  the  surface.  The  cultivator 
attachments  should  be  kept  sharp.  A  large 
weed  will  catch  on  a  dull  tool  and  drag  out  the 
beets.  The  beets  should  be  cultivated  every  ten 
days  or  two  weeks  until  the  leaves  cover  the 
ground.  When  the  leaves  get  so  large  they  are 
injured  by  the  cultivator,  the  cultivation  must 
cease.  In  cultivating,  use  a  slow,  steady  horse, 
and  for  the  first  two  cultivations  have  some  one 
lead  the  horse.  The  eyes  of  the  man  who  has 
hold  of  the  cultivator  handles  must  be  on  the 
beets.  The  cultivator  takes  two  rows  at  once. 
It  is  important  to  get  started  on  the  rows  right, 
for  the  drill  has  sown  the  four  rows  parallel 
with  each  other,  each  row  of  the  four  has  the 
same  crook  in  it,  and  in  cultivating  but  one  row 
of  beets  needs  watching;  if  that  row  goes  all 
right  past  the  cultivator,  the  other  row  being 
parallel,  is  sure  to.  If  you  start  in  on  the  fourth 
and  fifth  rows  writh  your  cultivator  you  will  find 
yourself  in  trouble.  They  are  not  exactly  par- 
allel and  you  are  sure  to  destroy  parts  of  one  or 
both.  In  setting  the  ahoes,"  bring  them  as  close 
together  as  possible,  without  destroying  the 
beets.  It  is  better  to  have  the  hoes  for  the  first 
two  rows  a  little  too  far  apart  to  give  the  opera- 
tor some  experience  and  skill  in  cultivating. 

After  thinning,  the  cultivator  should  be  kept 
going.     At  intervals  of  ten  days  or  two  weeks 


216  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

the  beets  should  receive  two  thorough  hoeings. 
A  small  five-inch  hoe  should  be  used,  which  can 
be  run  between  the  plants  the  same  as  in  spacing, 
killing  all  the  weeds  and  loosening  the  soil  about 
the  beets.  In  this  work  the  young  beets  should 
not  be  cut  or  scratched  with  the  hoe.  Such  cuts 
do  not  heal  properly  and  the  beets  are  injured 
for  life.  If  the  ground  it;  not  too  foul,  the  sec- 
ond hoeing  will  subdue  the  weeds,  the  beets  will 
be  well  started  and  a  harvest  in  sight, 

IRRIGATION  When  the  beets  need  water,  give  it  to  them. 

Don't  think  they  must  be  thirsty  so  the  roots  will 
go  after  moisture  and  get  deep  into  the  ground. 
They  will  go  down,  anyway,  if  the  ground  is  not 
too  hard.  The  most  of  the  root  feeders  are  near 
the  surface  and  here  is  where  most  of  the  nour- 
ishment is  obtained.  Beets  are  like  alfalfa  in 
that  they  go  deep  after  plant  food.  They  stand 
neglect  better  than  most  crops  and  will  do  much  to 
redeem  themselves  if  given  good  after-treatment, 
but  it  is  unprofitable  to  allow  the  growth  to  become 
stunted  for  lack  of  water.  There  are  two  irri- 
gating shovel  attachments  for  the  best  cultiva- 
tors, which  make  furrows  between  the  rows  of 
beets.  These  should  be  used  before  irrigation  is 
commenced,  but  the  soil  should  not  be  thrown  up 
on  the  beets.  When  the  beets  are  thus  covered, 
the  yield  is  much  less.  The  furrows  allow  the 
water  to  follow  along  between  the  rows  and  when 
run  from  three  to  five  hours  it  has  soaked  to  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


217 


beet,  the  moisture  is  below  the  surface  and  the 
soil  does  not  bake  next  to  the  beets.  It  is  not 
best  to  flood  beets.  The  beets  when  flooded  tend 
to  be  smaller  in  size,  but  are  generally  richer  in 
sugar.  The  water  standing  on  them  in  hot 
weather  is  likely  to  scald  and  kill  them.  It  is 
best  to  folloAv  each  irrigation  with  a  cultivation, 
as  soon  as  the  ground  is  dry  enough. 

Irrigation  should  be  given  as  often  as  the 
ground  becomes  dry.  Never  allow  the  beets  to 
suffer  for  water.  The  sugar  beet  is  a  crop  that 
will  pay  for  all  extra  work  and  attention  given 
it.  It  is  these  extra  attentions  that  give  profit 
in  beet  culture. 

It  is  in  September  and  October  that  the  beet 
makes  the  best  growth,  the  leaves  contract  along 
the  midrib  and  veins,  the  lower  leaves  take  a  yel- 
lowish cast,  the  beet  is  now  making  sugar  fast. 
Beets  that  would  yield  about  15  per  cent,  sugar 
the  first  of  October  will  yield  about  18  per  cent. 
October  thirty-first.  In  this  extra  per  cent,  is 
a  good  profit.  The  manufacturers  will  usually 
wish  to  start  the  factory  early  and  will  want 
early  beets  to  begin  on.  The  early  planted  beets 
will  be  rich  in  sugar,  but  even  these  are  still  mak- 
ing sugar. 

HARVESTING  When  the  beets  are  ready  in  the  fall,  they  are 

dug  with  a  beet  plow,  drawn  by  three  or  four 
horses.  This  plow  runs  by  the  side  of  a  row  and 


218 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


lifts  the  beets  in  the  soil,  cutting  or  breaking  off 
the  root.  The  beets  are  then  pulled  and  thrown 
into  convenient  piles,  sixteen  to  twenty  rows  are 
generally  thrown  together  in  this  manner.  The 
beets  are  topped  with  corn  knives,  or  a  special 
beet  knife  with  a  blade  ten  inches  long.  The 
beet  is  taken  in  one  hand,  the  top  cut  off  with  a, 
single  stroke,  and  then  thrown  into  the  pile. 
With  good  help  it  will  cost  50  cents  a  ton  to  do 
this.  It  is  important  that  the  beet  be  topped 
quickly  and  the  "topper"  should  be  quick  and 
hit  the  beet  at  the  desired  point  hard  enough  to 
sever  the  top.  When  topped  the  piles  are  thrown 
together  and  covered  with  the  tops  to  prevent 
evaporation  of  the  juice  and  as  a  protection  from 
frost. 


CARE    OF 
TOPS 


The  top  of  the  beet  is  cut  off  about  midway 
between  the  mark  of  the  lower  leaf  and  the  crown 
of  the  beet.  The  beet  leaves  should  be  placed  in 
small  piles,  two  feet  high  by  about  two  feet 
broad,  and  left  in  the  field  to  cure.  When  cured 
they  are  hauled  in  and  fed  to  cattle  and  sheep. 
They  are  liked  by  cows,  and  containing  so  much 
of  the  tops  of  the  beets,  are  a  valuable  feed.  If 
the  tops  are  hauled  in  and  put  in  large  piles  be- 
fore they  are  cured,  fermentation  begins  and  a 
smoking,  hot,  rotten  pile  is  soon  the  result. 


COST  AND 
PROFIT 


The  expense  of  growing  an  acre  of  beets  may 
be  estimated  as  follows,  the  farmer  allowing  him- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  219 

self  wages  and  a  little  more  than  cost  of  feed  for 
his  team : 


Manuring,  15  loads  at  20c $  3.00 

Plowing 1.25 

Harrowing 25 

Leveling 75 

Planting     50 

Seed,  20  Ibs.  at  15c 3.00 

Thinning   6.00 

Hoeings    6.00 

Cultivating  and  furrowing,  6  times  at  50c     3.00 

Irrigating,  6  times  at  50c 3.00 

Pulling,  topping,  hauling,  for  a  yield  of 

15  tons  per  acre  at  $1.00 15.00 


$41.75 

Horses,  when  they  have  learned  to  eat  heets, 
are  very  fond  of  them.  The  hair  becomes  glossy 
and  coat  slick  when  beets  form  a  portion  of  their 
feed.  Milch  cows  do  well  on  them.  Steers  get 
fat  when  fed  beets.  Hogs  relish  them  and  will 
fatten  rapidly.  If  fed  a  small  grain  ration  with 
beets  the  hogs  do  better  than  when  fed  grain 
alone.  Sheep  will  fatten  fast  on  beets  and  corn. 
They  are  considered  cheaper  feed  than  corn,  and 
the  mixture  cheapens  that  ration.  Chickens  will 


220 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


pick  into  beets  and  consume  them  as  they  will 
melons.  The  beet  tops  have  become  an  import- 
ant feed  in  cattle  and  sheep  fattening. 


Plate  XL.     A  Colorado  Sugar  Factory. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CROPS. 

Variety  is  the  spice  of  life,  and  the  farmer  need  not 
carry  all  his  eggs  in  one  basket. 

Writers  have  usually  admitted  that  flax  is  a 
much  neglected  crop.  It  is  becoming  more  and 
more  appreciated  in  the  West.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  drouth-resistant  plants,  resists  hail  well, 
will  grow  in  a  short  season  and,  where  there  is 
sufficient  early  moisture  to  stimulate  the  first 
growth,  it  will  usually  make  a  crop.  The  main 
difficulty  in  raising  flax  in  the  West  has  been 
that  of  finding  a  market,  as  there  are  no  mills 
for  the  extraction  of  the  oil  and  the  linen  indus- 
try has  not  called  for  the  fibre.  However,  we 
have  made  some  new  discoveries  in  regard  to  the 
value  of  flax  seed  for  feeding  stock.  Early  feed- 
ers failed  to  get  good  results  with  flax  because 
they  fed  too  heavily,  upsetting  the  digestion  of 
the  animals  and  causing  urinary  troubles.  With 
more  moderate  feeding,  flax  has  found  a  place 
in  Western  farming. 

Under  irrigation,  flax  does  not  stand  much 
water.  It  should  be  irrigated  lightly  and  never 
flooded  too  long. 

Average  yields  are  fifteen  to  eighteen  bushels 
per  acre;  but  maximum  yields  of  twenty-eight 


222  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

bushels  have  been  known.  Sixteen  bushels  per 
acre  have  been  grown  at  altitudes  of  over  seven 
thousand  feet,  and  flax  from  that  locality  took  a 
medal  at  the  Chicago  World's  Fair.  If  cut 
early  enough,  often  a  second  growth  will  spring 
up,  which  is  valuable  for  fall  feed.  If  raised 
for  the  grain,  sow  twenty  pounds  or  twenty-five 
pounds  of  seed  per  acre.  Where  grown  for  flax 
fibre,  it  should  be  planted  thick,  using  forty  or 
fifty  pounds  of  seed.  Sow  with  a  grain  press 
drill,  planting  one-half  inch  or  one  inch  deep. 
Cut  when  the  majority  of  the  seed  balls  are  light 
brown  in  color  and  when  the  straw  is  somewhat 
green.  If  left  too  long,  it  shatters  badly  in  the 
field.  It  is  best  harvested  with  a  self-rake  or 
binder,  without  the  binding  attachment.  A 
small  amount  of  flax  may  be  sown  with  oats  and 
the  crop  cut  and  fed  in  the  straw  or  threshed  and 
fed  as  mixed  grain.  Some  experiments  in  Wyo- 
ming resulted  in  very  fat  lambs  by  feeding 
ground  flax  seed,  turnips  and  alfalfa  hay.  Sev- 
enteen to  twenty  pounds  of  seed  fed  in  this  man- 
ner in  a  period  of  ninety  to  one  hundred  days 
made  the  lambs  fat  without  any  other  grain. 
From  two  to  four  ounces  of  seed  per  day  in  con- 
nection with  other  food  is  sufficient  for  a  sheep. 
Small  amounts  of  flax  seed  fed  to  horses  with 
grain  give  good  results,  especially  in  the  spring. 

BUCKWHEAT  Buckwheat  is  one  of  the  very  valuable  dry 

farm  and  short-season  crops  for  the  West.     It 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  223 

can  be  planted  as  late  as  July,  where  our  seasons 
are  long,  and  planted  in  the  spring  at  our  higher 
altitudes  will  usually  mature  a  good  crop.  It 
is  one  of  the  easier  grain  crops  to  grow,  and  is  of 
much  value  as  stock  feed,  where  there  are  no 
mills  for  making  buckwheat  flour.  The  princi- 
pal use  made  of  it  is  for  chickens,  but  when 
ground  it  makes  a  good  grain  for  other  kinds  of 
animals.  It  will  usually  do  on  soils  which  have 
been  plowed  early  or  on  sod.  For  dry  farming 
plant  about  twenty  pounds  of  seed  per  acre,  and 
twenty-five  or  thirty  pounds  where  plenty  of 
water  may  be  had  for  irrigation. 

There  are  two  principal  varieties,  the  Jap- 
anese and  the  Silver  Hull.  The  Silver  Hull 
produces  a  smaller  grain  than  the  other,  but  we 
prefer  it  for  general  planting.  Buckwheat 
should  not  be  allowed  to  get  too  ripe  before  har- 
vested and  must  be  handled  carefully  in  our  drj* 
climate  to  prevent  shattering. 

Beans  are  one  of  the  best  paying  dry-farm 
crops,  as  they  will  mature  with  comparatively 
little  moisture.  Large  areas  are  devoted  to  bean 
culture  in  California,  where  the  season  is  long 
enough  to  mature  lima  varieties.  Beans  are  a 
cultivated  crop  which  fits  into  Western  farming. 
They  are  legumes  which  gather  nitrogen  from 
the  air  and  improve  the  soil.  The  best  varieties 
for  field  culture  are  the  large  Xavy  or  the 
small  Xavy,  the  Mexican  bean,  and  Red 


224:  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

and  White  wax.  They  should  be  planted 
in  rows  two  and  one  half  feet  apart,  sowing 
two  to  three  inches  deep,  so  the  seed  will 
be  from  three  to  four  inches  apart  in  the  rows. 
This  will  take  from  twenty  pounds  of  small 
kinds  to  sixty  pounds  of  seed  per  acre.  The 
culture  of  the  bean  is  simple  and  easy.  A  deep 
mellow  seed  bed  should  be  prepared  and  the  crop 
should  be  cultivated  often  until  the  time  of 
bloom.  Where  irrigated,  the  water  should  be 
sparingly  used  and  never  allowed  to  reach  the 
crowns  of  the  plants,  and  cultivation  should  fol- 
low each  irrigation.  Do  not  work  beans  when 
the  plants  are  wet  with  dew  or  rain.  Watch  for 
and  kill  the  bean  beetle.  (See  chapter  on  insect 
enemies.)  They  must  be  harvested  by  pulling 
with  dump  rake,  but  it  will  usually  be  found 
advisable  to  pull  by  hand,  as  the  crop  is  valuable 
and  should  not  be  lost  by  hurried  methods,  which 
will  shatter  the  beans. 

BOOT  Every  farmer  with  stock  to  feed  should  grow 

CROPS  root  crops  to  supply  winter  succulence.     In  the 

West  there  are  few  places  where  making  silage 
will  pay.  In  a  dry  country,  however,  some  suc- 
culent food  is  most  valuable.  Root  crops  are 
not  grown  for  the  amount  of  food  material  they 
contain,  so  much  as  to  supply  a  variety  of  feed 
and  to  help  the  animals  digest  other  foods  given, 
Turnips  are  most  usually  raised,  and  it  costs 
very  little  to  produce  the  crop.  They  may  be 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  225 

sown  as  i\  catch  crop,  with  the  corn  the  first  of 
July,  <>r  plant- M!  on  other  land  and  drilled  or 
broadcasted.  Fse  two  to  four  pounds  of  seed 
per  acre,  and  keep  the  ground  as  moist  as  pos: 
>ihle  without  making  it  too  wet.  The  best  vari- 
eties are  the  White  eii'ii1  and  Golden  ball,  for  our 
higher  altitudes,  Purple  tops,  and  Swedes,  01 
Rutabagas  for  general  planting. 

Mangels  are  the  easiest  beets  to  grow.  They 
do  not  require  thinning  and  special  culture  re- 
quired by  sugar  beets.  Mangels  contain  so  much 
water  and  so  little  dry  matter  that  they  are  one 
of  the  poorest  root  crops  for  feed.  However > 
they  produce  large  yields,  and  are  worth  while  in 
many  localities.  The  half  sugar  mangels  are 
the  best  form  of  stock  beets  to  grow.  They 
contain  enough  sugar  to  make  their  feeding 
value  higher  than  the  mangel.  Of  mangels 
or  half  sugar  beets,  use  eight  to  twelve  pounds  of 
-eed  per  acre,  and  sow  in  drills  two  and  one-half 
to  three  feet  apart.  They  may  be  irrigated  and 
cultivated  like  the  sugar  beet. 

PASTURING  A  method  of  harvesting  root  crops  which  has 

long  been  in  vogue  in  England  is  becoming  pop- 
ular in  the  West.  This  is  to  pasture  them  with 
sheep  or  hogs.  The  English  fanner  uses  hur- 
dles, pasturing  small  areas  at  a  time.  After  the 
animals  eat  the  tops  of  the  roots  down  into  the 
"•round  as  far  as  they  can  reach,  the  farmer  pulls 
out  the  lower  parts  of  the  roots  with  an  iron  hook 


JERUSALEM 


226  ARID    AGRICULTURE, 

and  knocks  off  the  soil  or  loose  roots  with,  a 
coarse  knife.  These  partly-eaten  roots  are  fed 
to  stock  hogs. 

It  has  been  thought  that  our  winters  were 
too  cold  for  this  kind  of  stock  feeding,  but  our 
falls  are  usually  open,  and  considerable  time  is 
available  for  the  pasturing  of  root  crops  before 
freezing  weather  gets  too  severe. 

The  artichoke  is  the  most  hardy  tuber  grown. 
It  may  be  grown  far  north  and  left  in  the  ground 
over  winter.  Its  principal  use  is  as  feed  for 
swine  and  it  is  especially  valuable  in  pig  pastures 
for  brood  sows  which  get  a  good  amount  of  ex- 
ercise in  rooting  out  the  tubers.  This  is  one  of 
the  plants  which  give  the  largest  yield  of  food 
per  acre.  Yields  have  been  known  of  over  seven 
hundred  bushels  of  artichokes  per  acre.  This 
tuber  is  made  considerable  use  of  as  human  food. 
It  is  usually  sliced  and  eaten  raw  in  salt  and 
vinegar,  but  in  Europe  it  is  often  boiled  or  other- 
Avise  prepared  like  potatoes. 

The  artichoke  is  a  tuberous  rooted  sunflower 
and  ordinarily  only  the  tubers  are  valuable, 
though  sometimes  where  grown  thickly  on  the 
ground,  the  tops  are  cut  and  cured  for  forage. 
It  may  be  left  in  the  soil  year  after  year  withoul 
replanting.  When  this  is  done,  to  prevent  the 
plants  getting  so  thick  that  they  crowd  each 
other,  they  are  cultivated,  leaving  strips  of  plants 
about  three  feet  apart  one  way  and  a  foot  and 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  227 

one-half  or  two  feet  apart  in  the  rows,  by  cross- 
cultivation.  The  cultivation  is  done  when  the 
artichokes  begin  to  grow  in  the  spring,  and  are 
four  or  five  inches  high.  We  have  known  crops 
to  be  produced  year  after  year  where  the  rain- 
fall was  only  ten  inches  and  the  season  short  and 
cold,  and  this  was  done  without  any  special  care 
or  irrigation. 

Many  are  afraid  to  plant  artichokes  because 
they  consider  them  a  bad  weed.  It  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  destroy  them  as  weeds.  They  are  allowed 
to  grow  a  foot  or  two  high  before  being  plowed. 
Then  planting  the  land  to  wheat  or  other  grain 
and  giving  it  cultivation  with  the  harrow  and 
weeder  will  entirely  rid  the  soil  of  artichokes  in 
one  season. 

The  culture  of  artichokes  is  the  same  as  that 
for  potatoes,  though  the  cultivation  may  be  less 
frequent  and  more  shallow.  They  are  planted 
in  rows  three  feet  apart,  and  may  be  put  in  with 
a  potato  planter  or  dropped  by  hand  in  furrows 
and  covered  with  a  plow  or  harrow.  They  should 
be  planted  from  three  to  six  inches  deep  and  the 
tuber  may  be  either  planted  whole,  which  is  the 
method  pursued  if  the  planting  is  done  in  the 
fall,  or  they  may  cut  one  or  two  eyes  to  the  piece 
when  planted  in  the  spring.  They  may  be  har- 
vested like  potatoes  and  stored  and  fed,  but  their 
greatest  use  is  in  the  pig  pasture. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

PLANT  BREEDING. 

Ignorance  of  the  Laws  of  Nature  Make  up  the  Mys- 
teries of  life. 

HISTORY  OP  All  material  and  mental  progress  hinges  on 

BREEDING  man's  ability  to  wrest  from  nature  more  tlian 
he  needs  for  mere  subsistence.  It  depends  pri- 
marily on  his  ability  to  apply  and  use  natural 
forces.  Perhaps  T  may  carry  the  thought  a  step 
further  and  say  that  true  wealth  and  true  ad- 
vancement depend ,  not  so  much  on  the  abund- 
ance of  raw  material,  as  on  our  ability  to  work 
changes  in  that  material  which  make  it  contrib- 
ute to  our  happiness  and  contentment. 

I^ever  before  were  the  minds  of  men  so  keen. 
Certainly  there  is  no  evidence  that  our  forebears 
could  make  the  intelligent  use  of  natural  forces 
that  men  are  accomplishing  today.  This  ad- 
vancement is  apparent  in  all  lines  of  productive 
industry.  It  is  through  the  more  or  less  intelli- 
gent guidance  of  man  that  the  vital  laws  of  plant 
and  animal  change  and  improvement  enable  a 
less  number  of  tillers  of  the  soil  to  supply  the 
basic  support  which  allows  other  forms  of  civil- 
ized activity  to  proceed.  Time  was  when  man 
must  use  all  his  effort  to  procure  neces- 
sary food  alone.  Afterward  raiment  was  added 
as  the  first  luxury,  only  to  become  a  fixed  neces- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


229 


sity.      This  was  followed  by  all   the  variety  of 
other  tilings  which  men  could  exist  without.      At 


Plate  XLI.      Wheat   Breeding  by   the  Author. 

Common  Form   of  Turkey   Red   Winter  Wheat. 

Improved   Turkey  Wheat. 

A  New   Beardless  Winter  Wheat — Scale    at    Left. 


the  present  time  not  only  the  mere  necessities, 
but  the  luxuries  as  well,  are  actually  supplied  to 
the  world  by  one-third  of  the  working:  population 
who  are  producers. 


230 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


IMPROVE- 
MENT  BY 
DOMESTICA- 
TION 


Until  very  recent  times,  indeed,  agricultural 
progress  has  been  slow.  As  a  rule,  all  life  that 
man  has  brought  under  domestication  for  his  use 
has  been  improved  over  its  wild  state.  The  one 
exception  (and  it  takes  one  exception  to  prove 
the  rule)  seems  to  be  the  donkey,  which  an 
Egyptian  writer  tells  us  has  deteriorated  much 
from  the  character  of  the  wild  ass  of  Africa, 
from  which  it  sprung.  Until  the  present  day, 
the  improvement  in  our  best  developed  breeds 
of  animals  has  not  been  as  great  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, and  seems  to  have  depended  more  on  an 
abundance  of  food  than  on  breeding  proper.  The 
profound  changes  which  have  occurred  in  plants 
have  no  parallel  in  the  animal  kingdom.  The 
simple  reason  for  this  seems  to  center  in  the 
difference  of  mere  productiveness  of  plants  and 
animals,  and  in  the  fact  that  plants  may  be  prop- 
agated by  vegetative  parts,  so  that  their  perpetu- 
ation does  not  depend  on  two  parents  and  two 
lines  of  mixed  heredity.  The  principles  of  life 
of  development  and  growth,  of  variation  and 
change,  are  the  same  in  both  plants  and  animals, 
but  breeders  can  observe  the  lives  of  a  vast  num- 
ber of  plants  compared  with  a  limited  number 
of  animals.  Some  of  the  most  prolific  animals, 
like  certain  fishes  and  insects,  have  been  little 
subject  to  artificial  breeding.  The  birds  which 
have  been  domesticated  are  the  most  prolific  and 
show  the  greatest  variety,  and  improvement,  evi- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


231 


denced  by  the  numerous  breeds  of  fowls  and  pig- 
eons, but  outside  of  these  there  are  probably  none 
which  will  bring  forth  more  than  twenty  fold  in 
a  vear. 


DISCOVERT 
OP  SEX  IM- 
PLANTS 


The  underlying  principles  of  any  kind  of 
breeding  have  been  known  to  man  but  a  few 
years.  Sex  in  plants  was  known  to  the  ancients, 
and  the  doctrine  that  plants  are  of  different 
sexes  seems  to  have  been  entertained  even  among 
the  original  Greeks.  Several  Greek  writers  di- 
vide plants  into  male  and  female,  but  as  London 
points  out,  their  conception  was  based  on  erro- 
neous observations  of  habit,  and  the  significance 
of  sex  was  not  understood.  The  real  discovery 
of  sex  in  plants  seems  to  have  been  made  by 
Cameraria  in  the  last  years  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury,, but  Bailey  states  that  "The  true  signifi- 
cance of  sex  in  plants  was  first  clearly  conceived 
bv  Hofmeister  in  1840." 


PLANT 
BREEDING 
IS   NEW 


We  have  no  indications  in  ancient  writing 
of  true  plant  breeding.  In  the  parable  of  the 
>o\ver  is  this  sentence,  aAnd  they  fell  on  good 
ground  and  did  yield  fruit  and  spring  up  and  in- 
creased and  brought  forth  some  fifty  and  some 
sixty  and  some  an  hundred  fold."  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  productiveness  of  plants  in  earlier 
times  was  supposed  to  be  due  entirely  to  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  soil,  and  to  outside  conditions, 


232  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

rather  than  to  any  inherent  qualities  in  the  plants 
themselves.  It  is  true  that  artificial  selection 
was  carried  on  by  Roman  farmers,  perhaps  as 
early  as  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  Vir- 
gil, in  his  poem  Georgics  (1-197),  as  translated 
by  DeVries,  says : 

"The  chosen  seed  through  years  and  labor  im- 
proved,, 

Was  seen  to  run  back,  unless  yearly 
Man  selected  by  hand  the  largest  and  fullest  of 


He  says  further,  "elsewhere  Virgil,  and  some 
lines  of  Columella  and  Varro,  go  to  prove  in  the 
same  way  that  selection  was  applied  by  the  Ro- 
mans to  their  cereals,  and  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  their  races  pure.'7  DeVries 
goes  on  to  show  how  nearly  all  crops  were  then, 
as  they  are  now,  composed  of  mixed  varieties, 
The  mixed  condition  was  known,  but  men  had  no 
distinct  ideas  of  either  specific  marks  or  variety 
differences,  and  many  of  the  elementary  forms 
have  entirely  disappeared.  Bailey  states  that 
there  are  one  hundred  cultivated  varieties  of 
plants,  the  primitive  ancestors  of  which  cannot 
be  certainly  traced.  This  is  a  large  per  cent, 
of  the  whole,  as  DeCandolle  recognizes  but  two 
hundred  and  forty-eight  cultivated  species. 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


233 


PLANTS 
NATURALLY 
ADAPT 
THEMSELVES 


EPPECT  OP 
CLIMATE 


Adaptation  to  environment  and  natural  se- 
lection has  made  profound  changes  in  plants. 
This  is  evidenced  both  by  cultural  varieties, 
which  have  improved  under  domestication  with- 
out any  special  attempt  on  the  part  of  man  to 
make  them  better,  and,  as  well,  by  the  fact  that 
every  climatic  region  displays  true  character  in 
its  vegetation,  due  to  the  plants  having  adapted 
themselves  to  conditions.  Xature  alone  has 
shortened  the  season  of  certain  plants,  so  they 
can  reproduce  themselves  in  the  colder  climate ; 
has  reduced  the  leaf  surfaces  and  thickened  the 
epidermis  that  species  may  be  enured  to 
drought;  changed  the  sensitiveness  of  plants  to 
the  effects  of  frost  or  heat;  and  has  done  manv 
other  tilings  to  produce  the  marked  variations 
found  in  plant  communities  of  different  regions. 

Tn  the  Michigan  Agricultural  Report  for 
1880,  Dr.  W.  T.  Beal  states  that  he  found  that 
field  corn  becomes  marked  with  dents  in  three 
years  when  taken  from  Michigan  to  Kansas.  On 
the  contrary,  at  Lansing,  Michigan,  dent  corn 
has  a  tendency  to  ripen  earlier  and  become 
r< .nnded  at  the  tip  of  the  kernel,  from  year  to 
year,  unless  care  is  taken  to  select  seed  to  per- 
petuate the  dent  character.  A  statement  is  made 
in  Encyclopedia  Britannica  that  "A  single  ear 
of  precocious  rice  has  given  rise  to  the  only  kind 
that  can  now  be  grown  north  of  the  Great  Wall 
in  China."  These  statements  have  reference  to 


234  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

natural  accidental  changes  rather  than  to  im- 
provements by  men  through  the  use  of  plant 
breeding. 

EARLY  While  the  great  impetus  to  plant  breeding 

dates  back  only  to  the  publication  of  Darwin's 
"Origin  of  Species/'  in  1859,  some  breeders  had 
done  considerable  work  over  one  hundred  years 
previous  to  that.  Most  of  this  work  consisted  of 
selection  only,  to  separate  out,  or  pedigree  the 
elementary  species  which  had  originated  acci- 
dentally, probably  through  mutations,  or 
"sports"  arising  in  ordinary  farm  culture.  A 
few  of  the  more  important  names  are  those  of 
Yon  Mons,  who  began  to  experiment  in  1785. 
and  in  1823  had  20,000  seedling  trees  in  his 
"Nursery  of  Fidelity,"  in  Holland.  He  gave 
his  attention  almost  wholly  to  pears,  and  created 
important  new  varieties  of  fruit.  Professor 
Bailey  has  given  \7on  Mons  credit  for  being  the 
earliest  apostle  for  selection  and  amelioration  of 
plants. 

Another  early  explorer  in  the  field  of  plant 
breeding  was  Joseph  Cooper  of  New  Jersey,  who 
in  1799  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  "Change 
of  seed  is  not  necessary  to  prevent  degeneracy." 
He  originated  the  Cooper  plum  and  some  other 
plants  of  importance.  At  the  same  time,  An- 
drew Knight,  in  England,  took  up  studies  to  de- 
termine the  best  means  to  improve  plants.  Tn 
1806  he  wrote:  "New  varieties  of  every  species 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  235 

of  fruit  will  generally  be  better  obtained  by  in- 
troducing the  farina  of  one  variety  of  fruit  into 
the  blossom  of  another  than  by  propagating  any 
form  from  a  single  kind''  (Bailey,  "Survival  of 
the  Unlike").  Perhaps  at  even  an  earlier  time 
than  any  of  the  dates  mentioned,  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century,  Louis  Vilmorin  discov- 
ered the  principle  of  selection  for  improving 
plants.  DeVries  says  that  he  was  the  first  to 
apply  this  principle  to  plants.  His  work  is 
classic  in  the  improvement  of  sugar  beets.  He 
did  his  work,  not  by  crossing  or  breeding  proper, 
but  by  selection  of  those  beets  which  showed  the 
greatest  specific  gravity  due  to  sugar.  Toward 
the  last  of  the  century,  also,  Maryano  Lagasca  of 
Spain  published  some  papers  dealing  with  this 
subject,  and  he  interested  Colonel  LeConteur  in 
the  Island  of  Jersey,  and  LeConteur  produced 
some  valuable  new  varieties  of  wheat.  Thus  we 
have  in  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the 
first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  begin- 
ning of  plant  breeding  almost  contemporane- 
ously in  Holland,  England,  France,  Spain,  and 
the  United  States. 

Fifty  years  ago  some  of  the  principal  breed- 
ers of  cereals  were  Sheriff  of  Hadington  Hall, 
Scotland,  and  Hallet  of  England,  who  produced 
pedigreed  wheats ;  Rimpau  of  Germany,  who  has 
worked  principally  on  rye;  Risler  of  Switzer- 
land, and  Farrar  of  Australia,  who  were  breed- 
ers of  wheat. 


236  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Ill  the  last  two  decades  a  few  of  the  greater 
or  THE  plant    breeders    merit    special     notice.    While 

PRESENT 

DAy  there  are  a  number  who  have  produced  numerous 

varieties  of  merit,  more  especially  in  parts  of 
Europe,  the  men  who  have  jiiven  the  subject  pro 
found  attention  are :  Hugo  DeYries,  the  great 
Dutch  breeder ;  Mendel,  the  discoverer  of  Men- 
del's law ;  Luther  Burbank,  who  has  done  more 
than  any  other  man  in  the  improvement  of 
plants  and  the  creation  of  entirely  new  things ; 
Professor  Xilson  of  Svalof,  Sweden;  \V.  M. 
Hays,  who  developed  new  improved  varieties  of 
wheat  in  Minnesota;  and  L.  II.  Bailey  of  Cor- 
nell, who  has  written  much  to  popularize  the 
subject.  Xumerous  other  men  have  done  im- 
portant work  along  this  line,  most  of  it  being  in- 
cidental to  other  activities,  or  consisting  of  more 
or  less  accidental  discoveries.  Among  these 
were  Professor  Blount,  who  developed  new 
wheats  in  Colorado ;  Robert  Gauss,  wiio  has  been 
working  with  dry  land  wheats  at  Denver;  Pro- 
fessor Hold  en,  who  has  improved  corn  in  Iowa ; 
Burpee  of  Philadelphia,  who  originated  im- 
proved beans  and  sweet  peas ;  Peter  Henderson 
of  ^Xew  York,  in  the  same  kind  of  floral  work, 
and  others. 

WHAT  PLANT          The    principles    of    breeding    need    not    be 
BREEDING  is     touched  upon  at   this  time.      It  is  not  compli- 
cated to  one  who  has  given  it  much  study;  in 
fact,   Bailey  states,   in  answering  the  question. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  237 

"What  is  the  mystery  of  plant  breeding?"  only 
this:  "Good  care,  varying  circumstances,  and  ju- 
dicious selection  for  \vhat  you  want."  Of  course 
tliis  cuvers  the  subject  of  cross  pollenization  and 
other  means  <>f  artificially  inducing  variation, 
observation,  and  judgment  to  discover  useful 
characters,  ability  to  take  advantage  of  muta- 
tions, and  arranging  circumstances  to  supply 
plants  with  the  internal  necessities  and  the  ex- 
ternal comforts.  The  value  of  the  work  is  un- 
told, nor  can  it  be  estimated.  We  can  hardly 
make  statements  so  extravgant  that  they  would 
be  untrue.  Our  agricultural  interests  are  so 
vast  iliat  their  commercial  importance  far  excels? 
any  other  industry. 

VALUE  OF  The  influence  of  plant  improvement  on  the 

BREEDING  welfare  of  man  is  most  profound  and  far-reach- 
ing. One  can  hardly  imagine  what  our  condi- 
tion of  life  would  be  if  we  should  suddenly  be- 
come dependent  011  wild  animals  and  undomesti 
cated  plants.  The  subject  bears  a  deeper  signifi- 
cance than  one  of  mere  subsistence,  for  the  very 
refinements  of  our  minds  are,  without  doubt, 
more  intimately  associated  with  all  the  influ- 
ences of  a  tamed  environment.  Would  not  civ- 
ilization itself,  a  result  of  domestication,  be  par- 
tially obliterated  if  we  were  deprived  of  the 
society  of  improved  forms  of  other  kinds  of  life  ( 
Who  will  attempt  to  compare  the  ethical  effect 
of  our  everyday  use,  and  a.-snciation  with  a 


238  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

highly  cultivated  rose  or  a  wild  one,  a  juicy,  del- 
icately flavored,  seedless  orange,  or  a  small,  bitter, 
wilct  crab  apple,  a  loaf  of  white  bread  made  of 
improved  wheat,  or  the  rough  cake  of  barley 
bread,  including  the  bran  and  husk,  a  diet  of 
experimentally  bred  and  fed  lamb  or  the  coarse, 
rough  flesh  of  the  wild  boar  ? 

In  one  of  his  papers,  W.  M.  Hays  says :  "As 
the  breeding  of  sugar  beets  is  worth  to  the  world 
tens  of  millions  of  dollars,  so  the  breeding  of 
cereal,  forage,  fibre,  and  fruit  crops  will  be 
worth  many  billions."  Mr.  Hays  himself  pro- 
duced a  prolific  wheat  in  Minnesota,  which  in-' 
creased  the  agricultural  wealth  of  that  State  by 
an  estimated  ten  millions  of  dollars  per  year.  A 
few  years  of  corn  breeding  in  Illinois,  Iowa  and 
Missouri  has  doubled  the  corn  crop  of  those 
States,  and  the  money  values  are  so  vast  that  if 
stated  the  mind  could  not  grasp  their  signifi- 
cance. It  has  been  a  well  recognized  fact  that 
highly  specialized  plants  like  the  sugar  beets,  or 
pedigreed  grains,  can  only  be  kept  from  deterior- 
ating by  continual  selection,  and  on  this  account 
their  seeds  are  not  generally  produced  by  the 
mass  of  growers.  Seed  raising  and  general  plant 
improvement  has  become  a  specialized  business, 
and  the  general  farmer  must  continually  renew 
his  seed  from  the  best  sources  to  meet  with  suc- 
cess. Every  improvement  is  of  unmeasured 
value  to  the  producer  and  to  the  common  weal  th. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  239 

NEED  OP  As  a  rule,  plant  breeders  have  given  special 

PLANT  attention  to  improvements  which  appeal  to  the 

BREEDING  .       .  „,,  i       •        i         .•        1 

aesthetic  and  artistic.  They  work  in  horticul- 
ture, making  more  beautiful  trees  and  shrubs 
and  flowers,  or  developing  new  fruits.  Compar- 
atively little  has  been  done  in  this  country,  and 
that  in  recent  years,  to  improve  the  great  staple 
crops  of  the  farm.  Nearly  all  of  our  improved 
varieties  of  grains  have  come  from  the  Old 
World.  In  the  Middle  States  corn  breeding 
has  brought  about  remarkable  increase  in  crop 
yields  and  values.  On  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
seaboards  much  effective  work  has  been  done  in 
creating  and  adapting  new  varieties  of  fruits  and 
vegetables.  But  in  our  great  arid  America, 
where  irrigation  farming  is  developing  so  rap- 
idly, and  dry  farming  is  now  receiving  so  much 
attention,  outside  of  one  or  two  Experiment  Sta 
tions,  there  has  been  little  or  no  consecutive  ef- 
fort put  forth  either  to  improve  our  crops  or  to 
adapt  those  kinds  and  varieties  most  suitable  to 
our  new  conditions.  Nearly  two  decades  ago 
Professor  A.  E.  Blount  put  out  some  important 
improvements  in  grains.  His  Xo.  10  and  Xo. 
16  wheats  were  widely  grown  and  his  rust-proof 
oats  gave  him  a  world-wide  reputation.  For 
some  years  past  Mr.  Robert  Grauss  of  Denver  has 
been  doing  most  interesting  and  valuable  dry- 
farm  wheat  breeding.  Alfalfa,  the  king  of  crops 
for  the  West,  and  fast  becoming  a  queen  among 
crops  for  the  East  and  South,  has  not  yet  been 


240 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


moulded  into  more  prolific  and  better  forms  for 
our  farms.      Oats  and  wheat  are  not  staple  in 


Plate  XLII.      Breeding  Black  Winter  Elmmer. 

1.  Parent  Type. 

2.  A  Sporting  Type. 

3.  A  Beardless   "Sport." 

Bred  by  the   Author. 


241 

this  region,  but  new  varieties  introduced  from 
regions  with  soils  and  climate  unlike  our  own 
continually  "run  out/'  and  are  replaced  with 
some  new  importation.  We  have  no  established 
sort  of  barley,  and  the  rye  grown  in  the  AYest  is 
poor,  compared  with  some  of  the  magnificent 
sorts  bred  by  the  Germans  for  special  kinds  of 
-<>il  and  other  conditions.  Our  farmers  need 
heavy  yielding,  disease-resistant  varieties  of  po- 
tatoes. Our  stockmen  need  better  grasses  and 
more  suitable  feeding  stuffs,,  and  everybody 
needs  better  shade  tree-  and  adapted  fruits  and 
garden  vegetables. 

PLANTS  MUST          W(-  cannot   have  these  improvements  unless 

BE   IMPROVED       ,  1,1 

FOB  EACH         rll('.v  ar(I  developed  at  home.     We  must  improve 
REGION  our  own  alfalfa,  grasses  and  other  forage.      An 

improved  variety  of  grain  or  other  vegetable  cre- 
ated in  Europe,  or  in  the  tropics,  or  in  a  rainfall 
region,  may  produce  one  or  more  good  crops,  but 
many  of  them  are  unprofitable  and  perhaps  none 
of  them  will  hold  when  planted  here  year  after 
year,  unless  adapted  by  selection  and  plant  breed- 
ing. At  the  same  time,  seeds  produced  under 
our  peculiar  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  are 
superior.  At  our  high  altitudes,  where  the  sea- 
-011-  are  short  and  cool  we  should  produce  many 
hardy,  quick-maturing  and  valuable  sorts  of 
farm  and  garden  crops.  The  principle  is  be- 
coming well  established  that  the  most  successful 
seeds  and  plants  are  those  which  are  produced  in 


242  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

a  region  where  the  conditions  of  soil  and  climate 
are  as  unfavorable  and  trying  as  those  in  which 
the  crops  are  to  be  grown.  A  few  yearns  of  care- 
ful plant  breeding  will  undoubtedly  produce  re- 
sults of  untold  value  to  the  whole  arid  region. 
Our  farm  lands  are  vast  in  extent  and  the  ranch 
and  farm  interests  are  so  great  that  a  small  in- 
crease in  yield  or  a  small  improvement  in  qual- 
ity in  the  aggregate  becomes  worth  many  mill- 
ions to  the  country. 

WHAT  THE  Plant  breeding  in  the  scientific  sense  is  not 

practicable  work  for  the  farmer.  He  may  do 
much  to  keep  up  the  high  quality  of  his  crops 
by  careful  attention  to  seed  selection.  If  he 
raises  seed  of  any  crop  for  his  own  use  he  may 
keep  it  pure  by  weeding  out  all  plants  or  varie- 
ties which  would  contaminate  or  mix  his  seed. 
He  may  obtain  small  quantities  of  promising 
new  varieties  and  increase  the  seed  by  the  best 
methods.  He  may  select  the  seed  he  expects  to 
save  from  the  best  parts  of  the  field  or  from  the 
best  potato  or  corn  hills.  Though  he  may  not 
establish  new  varieties,  he  may  prevent  much 
running  out  and  keep  up  a  high  standard  of  qual- 
ity and  quantity.  This  kind  of  plant-breeding 
work  is  profitable  for  every  farmer.  He  should 
especially  be  on  the  watch  for  new  improve- 
ments which  have  been  secured  under  conditions 
of  soil  and  climate  similar  to  his  own. 


Part  V. 


CROP  DESTROYERS. 

There  are  beasts  of  field — birds  of  air 

And  insects  humming  everywhere 

Which,  as  ice  take  their  native  store, 

Depend  on  us  for  more  and  more. 

They  with  us  share  the  food  we  spare, 

To  eat  our  store  their  only  care. 

But  man  is  king,  Divine  command 

Gives  him  rule  of  earth  thru  the  mind  and  hand. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


WEEDS. 

Weeds  are  not  altogether  useless.  They  make  us 
till  where  we  might  neglect  to  till,  and  keep  our  minds 
at  work  to  devise  a  better  husbandry. 

WHAT  A  weed  is  a  plant  that  grows  where  it  is  not 

wanted.  Weeds  quickly  take  advantage  of  the 
negligent  farmer,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  do  not 
worry  the  man  that  knows  how.  On  the  irri- 
gated alfalfa  farm  weed  control  is  more  perfect 
and  easy  than  in  any  other  place  of  which  we 
know.  Notwithstanding  this,  every  farmer  has 
his  weed  problems,  and  it  often  occurs  that  a 
quick  and  prompt  use  of  knowledge  will  save  los> 
and  future  worry. 

Weeds  occupy  soil  that  should  be  occupied  by 
more  useful  plants.  They  starve,  dwarf  and 
kill  or  make  unprofitable  our  money-making 
crop.  Weeds  use  up  plant  food  and,  what  is 
more  important  to  us,  they  are  just  so  many 
pumps  taking  moisture  out  of  the  soil  and  throw- 
ing it  away.  Plant-food  used  by  weeds  may  be 
restored  to  the  soil  if  the  weeds  are  not  removed, 
but  the  moisture  used  by  them  is  irretrievably 
lost. 

Unsightly  and  troublesome  weeds  knock 
down  farm  values,  for  intelligent  buyers  of  land 
pass  by  a  weedy  farm  that  otherwise  would  be 


246  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

most  desirable.  Weeds  make  the  poor  farmer  a 
nuisance  to  the  whole  community,  for  his  crop  of 
weeds  is  a  blighting  pest  sent  to  do  his  neighbor 
harm.  If  a  farmer  choose  an  unprofitable  hus- 
bandry, it  is  his  own  folly;  but  if  that  system 
harms  his  friends,  he  should  be  summarily  dealt 
with  in  proportion  to  the  offense.  A  quarantine 
against  weeds,  especially  where  we  have  winds 
and  running  irrigation  water  to  facilitate  their 
spread,  is  as  reasonable  as  any  other  quarantine. 
Some  weeds  poison  our  animals  or  ourselves. 
The  milk  weed,  known  as  "Snow  on  the  moun- 
tain," a  native  of  parts  of  the  West,  is  very  pois- 
onous to  some  persons,  causing  serious  skin  dis- 
ease by  simply  touching  it.  Its  beauty  has 
caused  this  weed  to  be  planted  and  picked 
for  bouquets ;  but  people  should  understand  its 
nature  and  be  on  their  guard.  Almost  every  one 
is  familiar  with  the  effect  produced  by  the  poi- 
son sumac,  poison  ivy,  or  poison  oak.  Some- 
times people  attempt  to  eat  weeds  they  know 
nothing  about,  like  strange  toad  stools  or  the 
wild  peas  which  grow  on  astragalus  plants  in  the 
West,  and  if  they  happen  to  live,  they  always 
have  something  to  look  back  upon  with  regret. 
The  principal  weeds  that  poison  live  stock  are 
discussed  in  Part  VI,  of  this  book. 

Some  weeds  are  parasitic  and  injure  or  de- 
stroy crop  plants  by  living  off  their  sap.  It 
would  not  be  out  of  place  to  call  the  lower  forms 
of  plants,  which  produce  certain  plant  and  ani- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  247 

inal  diseases,  weeds.  Of  the  parasitic  flowering 
plants  we  need  only  speak  of  one,  the  dodder,  or 
"Love  vine,"  of  alfalfa. 

Weeds  may  cause  direct  injury  to  our  live 
stock,  as  the  western  squirrel  tail  grass,  known 
everywhere  as  "Fox  tail,"  which  gives  animals 
that  eat  the  heads  sore  mouths.  There  are  num- 
erous burrs  which  injure  wool  by  their  presence. 
Some  weed  seeds  adulterate  our  crops,  always 
lowering  their  value  and  often  making  them 
worse  than  valueless  for  seed  again.  Weeds 
often  harbor  insects  or  make  hiding  places  for 
rodents  that  are  a  real  menace  to  the  farmer's 
crop.  The  Colorado  potato  beetle  was  a  native, 
feeding  on  the  Buffalo  burr;  but  when  potatoes 
were  planted,  their  tender  leaves  were  more  to 
his  taste  and  he  became  one  of  the  greatest  farm 
pests.  Mustard  plants  carry  plant  lice  through 
the  winter,  so  they  are  ready  to  take  to  our  cab- 
bages and  rutabagas  as  soon  as  we  try  to  grow  a 
few  for  ourselves. 

As  one  of  the  worst  things  that  could  happen, 
Job  said,  "Let  thistles  grow  instead  of  wheat, 
and  cockle  instead  of  barley.'7  We  shall  never 
be  able  entirely  to  get  rid  of  weeds,  but  they  are 
worthy  of  the  farmer's  steel.  "Weeds,  like  the 
poor,  we  always  have  with  us.  *  *  *  As 
shiftlessness  causes  poverty  and  poverty  induces 
shiftlessness,  so  shiftlessness  induces  weeds  and 
weeds  cause  poverty  now,  just  as  they  did  in  the 
time  of  Solomon."  (Aven  Xelson.)  A  great 


248 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


KILLING 

WEEDS 

WITH 

SPRAYS 


majority  of  weeds  are  killed  by  the  cultivator, 
the  disc,  the  drag  harrow,  and  the  hoe ;  but  some 
of  our  worst  weeds  may  be  more  profitably  got- 
ten rid  of  by  special  methods.  Alfalfa  is  the 
greatest  and  most  effectual  weed  eradicator  of 
the  West. 

Spraying  weeds  with  solutions  of  sulphate  of 
iron  (copperas)  or  common  salt,  is  a  compara- 
tively new  way  of  destroying  them.  The  sul- 
phate of  iron  treatment  is  being  strongly  ad- 
vocated by  companies  who  get  this  material  as  a 
by-product  in  their  manufacturing,  and  are  seek- 
ing a  market  for  it.  There  is  merit  in  this 
method  of  killing  certain  weeds  if  properly  done, 
and  the  conditions  are  such  as  warrant  the  ex- 
pense. The  secret  of  success  seems  to  be  the  use 
of  power  sprays  or  hand  spray  pumps  which 
throw  a  very  fine  spray  with  considerable  force. 
Some  weeds  may  be  killed  with  other  chemicals. 
A  Montana  man  has  invented  a  dandelion  ex- 
terminator, which  consists  of  a  tube  with  which 
gasoline  is  placed  in  small  amount  at  the  roots 
of  these  pests.  Where  weeds  occupy  ground 
that  is  not  desired  for  raising  crops,  like  railroad 
rights  of  way,  sprinkling  with  crude  petroleum 
is  used  both  to  kill  the  weeds  and  lay  the  dust. 

How  to  mix  and  use  sprays  is  given  under 
the  weeds  for  which  they  are  useful.  The  fol- 
lowing dozen  worst  weeds  of  the  West,  with  their 
treatment,  will  <j;ive  general  information  which 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  249 

can  be  applied  to  practically  any  weed  problem 
that  may  arise.  Sweet  clover  is  left  out  of  the 
list  because  we  consider  it  one  of  the  desirable 
weeds.  There  are  places  where  it  is  troublesome 
in  dry  farming,  but  as  it  is  a  biennial,  simply 
keeping  it  from  going  to  seed  for  two  seasons  will 
entirely  destroy  it.  There  are  many  weeds  like 
Buffalo  burr,  rag  weed,  cow  weed,  pig  weed, 
lamb's  quarters,  sunflowers,  etc.,  that  must  sim- 
ply be  given  the  hoe  or  other  clean  culture. 

Dodder  is  called  "love  vine"  by  many.  It  is 
a  yellowish  or  brown,  fine  stemmed  parasitic 
plant  with  bunches  of  whitish  flowers.  It  grows 
on  alfalfa  and  other  small  stemmed  plants.  The 
small  stems  twine  themselves  around  the  alfalfa 
and  send  little  roots  into  the  tissues  for  their  food 
supply.  In  places  where  alfalfa  does  not  make 
the  strongest  growth  the  dodder  may  entirely  kill 
the  plants.  Alfalfa  seed  often  contains  dodder, 
but  there  is  no  excuse  for  this  or  for  the  farmer 
planting  it.  Dodder  seed  is  only  about  half  the 
size  of  alfalfa  seed  and  may  be  removed  by 
screening  through  a  screen  with  twenty  meshes 
to  the  inch  and  blowing  to  remove  any  un- 
threshed  seed  heads  of  the  dodder. 

If  dodder  appears  in  the  field,  it  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  mowing  close  to  the  ground,  before 
the  dodder  blooms,  and  removing  the  crop.  If 
the  dodder  has  produced  seed,  it  may  be  killed 
by  mowing  and  burning  the  crop  on  the  ground. 


250  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Should  the  soil  become  infested  with  dodder 
seed,  the  best  method  is  to  plow  up  the  alfalfa 
and  cultivate  some  large  stemmed  crop  on  the 
ground  for  two  years.  The  dodder  seed  germi- 
nate in  the  ground  and  throw  up  stems  w7hich 
twine  around  the  alfalfa,  the  connection  with  the 
ground  dying  as  soon  as  the  plant  becomes  estab- 
lished as  a  parasite.  The  plant  only  lives  one 
year  and  must  come  from  new  seed  in  the  ground 
each  season.  The  thorough  spring  discing  ad- 
vised for  alfalfa,  if  done  at  the  right  time,  will 
effectually  rid  the  field  of  dodder.  The  right 
time  is  after  the  dodder  seed  have  germinated 
and  before  the  little  plants  have  attached  them- 
selves to  the  alfalfa. 

IRON  WEED  We  do  not  know  that  the  common  name, 

"Iron  Weed,"  is  the  one  always  applied  to  the 
plant  here  discussed.  This  is  known  to  botan- 
ists as  Franseria  discolor,  and  under  the  new 
arrangement  of  names  it  has  been  changed  to 
Gaetnana.  The  weed  is  a  small  plant  some- 
what resembling  western  poverty  weed.  It  is  a 
perennial,  living  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  weeds  to  kill  with 
which  we  have  to  do.  It  crowds  out  all  culti- 
vated plants  and  seems  to  come  up  from  the  roots 
an  indefinite  number  of  times  when  attempts  are 
made  to  kill  it  by  cultivation.  After  it  becomes 
established,  it  covers  the  ground  with  a  mat. 
The  plants  are  five  or  six  inches  high  and  there  is 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  251 

a  small  slender  spike  on  the  top,  which  looks 
something  like  rag  weed.  The  leaves  have  a 
whitish  green  appearance.  It  is  probable  that 
the  best  method  of  destroying  iron  weed  is  deep 
and  continuous  cultivation.  It  usually  occurs 
in  comparatively  small  patches  and  it  is  possible 
that  a  very  strong  spray  of  sulphate  of  iron  or 
>alt  might  help  destroy  it. 

DANDELION  The  common  introduced  dandelion  is  one  of 

the  worst  weeds  of  the  West.  In  places  it  takes 
possession  of  lawns  and  will  entirely  run  out  any 
of  the  lawn  grasses.  Sometimes  it  occupies  fields 
and  at  our  high  altitudes  it  seems  to  compete  suc- 
cessfully with  alfalfa.  Many  attempts  have 
been  made  to  discover  some  means  of  competing 
with  the  dandelion.  For  many  years  writers 
made  the  recommendation  that  the  dandelion 
should  be  dug  out  with  a  chisel  or  "spud."  It 
has  been  shown  that  a  dandelion  root  cut  off  be- 
low the  crown  year  after  year  simply  branches 
and  throws  out  more  numerous  crowns.  If  the 
dandelion  is  cut  off  beloAv  the  crown  and  some 
solution  like  strong  brine,  kerosene,  or  sulphate 
of  iron  is  injected  into  the  hole  to  kill  the  root,  it 
may  be  successfuly  killed.  Our  recommendation 
for  lawns  is  to  plant  grass  seed  so  thick,  on 
ground  that  has  been  cultivated  until  it  is  en- 
tirely free  from  weeds,  that  there  will  be  as  little 
room  as  possible  for  the  growth  of  dandelions. 
Then,  if  the  land  can  be  irrigated  by  sub-irriga- 


252  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

tion  from  below,  or  by  an  occasional  thorough 
and  deep  soaking  with  water  by  flooding  instead 
of  by  the  ordinary  method  of  sprinkling  on  the 
surface,  the  seeds  of  the  dandelion  blowing  on- 
falling  onto  the  sod  will  not  be  so  apt  to  germi- 
nate and  become  established.  Spraying  with 
sulphate  of  iron  solution  is  often  recommended. 
It  will  kill  off  the  tops  of  dandelions  without 
serious  injury  to  the  lawn  grass,  but  unless  it  is 
repeatedly  done,  which  takes  considerable  ex- 
pense, it  will  not  be  successful.  The  strength  of 
sulphate  of  iron  recommended  for  dandelions  is 
two  pounds  to  each  gallon  of  water.  Dandelions 
in  the  field  may  be  killed  by  plowing  and  putting 
into  cultivated  crop  for  one  or  more  seasons  or  by 
thorough  summer  tillage  without  crop.  In  the 
long  run  it  does  not  pay  for  any  one  to  wear  him- 
self or  herself  out  digging  dandelions  out  of 
lawns.  A  good  heavy  seeding  of  grass  on  well 
prepared  ground  to  secure  a  perfect  lawn  will 
usually  remain  looking  well  for  eight  or  ten 
years.  When  the  dandelions  get  thick  enough 
to  get  unsightly,  plow  or  spade  up  the  lawn,  giv- 
ing the  soil  clean  culture  and  such  treatment  as 
will  germinate  all  weed  seeds  in  it  until  the  first 
of  July  and  replant  with  blue  grass  and  white 
clover.  You  can  use  as  much  as  150  pounds  of 
blue  grass  seed  and  thirty  pounds  of  white  clover 
seed  per  acre. 

WILD  OATS  Jt  js  commonly  believed  that  tame  oats  de- 

generate and  change  to  wild  ones.      This  is  no 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


253 


more  possible  than  it  would  be  for  a  Shorthorn 
cow  to  change  to  a  Jersey.  Wild  oats  do  seem  to 
come  very  mysteriously  sometimes,  but  they  ac- 
cumulate in  the  soil  unnoticed  until  they  get 
serious  enough  to  be  a  pest.  Growing  alfalfa, 
rotation  of  crops  and  clean  culture  are  the  only 
successful  remedies. 

BIND  WEED  This  is  a  wild  or  vine  Buckwheat.      It  is  one 

of  the  worst  we-tern  weeds  in  grain  fields.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  plant  seed  which  does  not  con- 
tain this  weed.  The  seeds  are  small,  three-cor- 
nered and  black  or  dark  colored.  Clean  culture 
is  t-he  remedy.  Usinir  a  weeder  in  the  grain 
field  until  the  plants  are  a  foot  or  more  high  will 
kill  most  of  the  buckwheat. 


CANADA 

THISTLE 


The  Canada  thistle  is  a  perennial  thistle 
which  is  one  of  the  most  persistent  and  difficult 
weeds  to  kill.  It  has  been  introduced  into  some 
parts  of  the  arid  region,  but  usually  occurs  in 
small  patches  only.  Where  there  are  only  small 
spots  of  thistle,  the  suggestion  has  been  made 
that  the  hay  and  straw  be  stacked  over  them. 
The  plants  may  lie  killed  by  digging  out  root  and 
branch.  It  is  said  that  sprinkling  with  common 
snlr  solution,  one-third  barrel  of  salt  to  fifty-two 
gallons  of  water,  will  kill  it.  This  will  probably 
kill  anything  else  that  it  is  applied  to  as  well; 
but  it  will  pay  to  stop  the  spread  of  these  thistles, 
even  at  sacrifice  of  the  crop.  The  plants  should 
never  be  allowed  to  go  to  seed. 


254 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


COCKLE  All  farmers  are  acquainted  with  the  pink 

blossoms  of  cockle  in  their  grain  fields  and  with 
the  round,  black  seeds  in  their  threshed  grain. 
The  amount  of  damage  done  by  cockle  is  very 
great.  We  have  heard  a  good  word  for  cockle 
from  one  man,  who  fattened  his  stock  on  the 
ground  seed.  Nothing  has  been  published  re- 
garding the  feeding  value  of  cockle  seed,  but  it 
may  be  worth  investigating.  Cockle  is  easily 
killed  by  clean  culture.  The  great  difficulty  is 
that  unclean  seed  is  so  often  planted.  It  should 
be  watched  and  killed  down  in  waste  places  and 
on  the  borders  of  fields. 


PRICKLY 
LETTUCE 


FOX  TAIL 
OB  WILD 
BARLEY 


The  wild  or  prickly  lettuce  is  one  of  the  most 
common  and  one  of  the  worst  introduced  annual 
weeds.  It  is  closely  related  to  the  cultivated  let- 
tuce, but  has  prickles  on  the  smaller  leaves. 
These  plants  have  the  habit  of  twisting  their 
leaves  so  that  the  edges  point  north  and  south. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  unsightly  winter  weeds  in 
fence  corners  and  along  road  sides.  It  produces 
a  large  amount  of  seed  that  is  distributed  by  the 
wind  and  irrigation  water.  Clean  culture  is  the 
remedy.  It  does  no  good  to  mow  this  weed  as  it 
branches  freely  from  any  part  of  the  stem  left 
above  ground  when  it  is  cut  off  and  will  ripen 
seeds  in  a  remarkably  short  time. 

The  squirrel  tail  grass,  commonly  called  Fox 
Tail  in  the  West,  is  one  of  our  very  worst  weeds. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  255 

The  young  plants  are  good  feed  for  stock,  but  as 
soon  as  the  heads  are  formed,  it  becomes  danger- 
ous on  account  of  the  beards.  It  spreads  in 
many  native  meadows  or  in  alfalfa  fields,  and 
mixed  with  the  hay,  it  does  great  damage  to 
stock  which  eat  it. 

A  general  condition  which  favors  fox  tail  is 
over-irrigation,  especially  in  alfalfa  or  native 
meadows.  It  is  an  annual  grass,  ordinarily  liv- 
ing only  one  year,  where  it  is  unmolested,  and 
forms  its  regular  crop  of  seeds  and  beards. 
When  it  is  cut,  however,  it  undoubtedly  lives 
more  than  one  year.  This  fact  and  its  habit  of 
forming  heads  right  at  or  close  to  the  ground 
when  the  tops  are  cut  off,  or  when  there  is  drouth 
or  poor  soil  (a  habit  of  the  barleys)  makes  fox 
tail  difficult  to  exterminate.  It  may  be  killed 
out  of  alfalfa  by  proper  cultivation  and  discing 
as  we  recommend.  Plow  up  meadows  and  plant 
some  other  crop  that  will  take  the  place  of  fox 
tail.  We  have  cleared  badly  infested  fox  tail 
land  by  planting  sweet  clover  or  dwarf  rape  for 
one  or  two  seasons. 

CRAB  GRASS  Crab  grass,  or  barnyard  millet,  or  wild  Jap- 

anese millet,  is  a  persistent  weed  in  cultivated 
fields  and  along  ditches.  It  seems  to  grow  either 
under  great  drouth  conditions  or  under  water, 
as  the  case  may  be.  Like  most  other  weeds  be- 
longing to  the  grass  tribe,  it  must  be  hoed  or  cul- 
tivated out. 


256 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


RUSSIAN 

THISTLE 


POVERTY 
WEED 


Russian  thistle  is  now  common  everywhere 
and  is  known  to  everybody.  It  is  a  weed  which 
seldom  grows  anywhere  but  in  cultivated  ground 
or  that  which  has  been  dug  up  at  some  time. 
Russian  thistle  was  at  one  time  the  subject  of 
many  scare  articles  by  those  who  believed  it 
would  ruin  agriculture  over  large  areas.  It  does 
much  damage  on  poorly  cultivated  farms,  espe- 
cially in  the  semi-arid  sections  where  grain- 
growing  predominates.  Its  principal  damage 
in  irrigated  sections  is  in  the  tumble  weeds  fill- 
ing ditches  and  clogging  flumes.  The  Russian 
thistle  is  not  a  bad  weed  to  cope  with.  It  ma- 
tures late  and  there  is  a  long  season  in  which  the 
farmer  can  kill  it  by  cultivation.  Once  cutting 
off  the  plant  below  the  crown  kills  it.  It  seems 
that  after  Russian  thistles  have  grown  a  few 
years  in  a  waste  section  of  land  they  disappear 
for  some  unknown  reason.  Many  think  that 
Russian  thistle  makes  good  fodder,  but  we  have 
better  forage  in  the  arid  region.  It  is  not  a 
'thistle  at  all,  but  a  true  tumble  weed,  belonging 
to  the  goosefoot  or  lamb's  quarter  family. 

Poverty  weed  occurs  in  many  western  soils. 
It  is  usually  found  in  land  of  poor  tilth,  contain- 
ing more  or  less  clay.  This  is  a  small  weed, 
growing  from  a  few  inches  to  a  foot  high.  It 
has  a  rough,  sticky  feel,  a  strong  odor  and  bears 
little  flower  heads  hanging  in  the  axils  of  the 
leaves.  Poverty  weed  is  a  perennial  and  niulti- 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


257 


MUSTARD 


THE 

SULPHATE 
OF  IRON 
SPRAY  FOB 
MUSTARD 


plies  by  underground  root  stalks,  so  plowing  or 
cutting  off  the  plants  simply  thickens  them. 
One  of  the  best  remedies  is  to  manure  and  work 
the  soil  to  bring  it  into  a  good  state  of  tilth.  Pov- 
erty weed  does  not  like  such  civilized  agriculture 
and  disappears. 

There  are  a  number  of  forms  of  mustard 
which  occur  as  weeds.  They  are  annual  plants 
and  include,  ordinarily,  wild  mustard,  shepherd's 
purse,  pepper  grass,  and  the  tame  black  and  yel- 
low introduced  mustards.  These  weeds  become 
detrimental  to  crops  of  grain  and  flax  and  do 
much  damage  in  such  crops  as  alfalfa  seed.  Mus- 
tard seed  cannot  be  cleaned  out  of  alfalfa  seed 
by  any  ordinary  means,  and  while  mustard  sel- 
dom becomes  troublesome  in  alfalfa  which  is  cut 
for  hay,  the  seed  containing  it  never  brings  the 
price  of  pure  seed.  The  same  statement  is  good 
for  sweet  clover  or  other  adulterants  of  alfalfa 
seed.  It  will  pay  the  alfalfa  seed-raiser  to  go 
through  his  alfalfa  and  destroy  such  plants  by 
hand.  He  should  see  to  it  that  the  threshing 
machine  or  huller  which  threshes  his  alfalfa  does 
not  contain  mustard.  Mustard  seed  may  be 
screened  out  of  grains,  but  it  is  difficult  to  get 
all  of  it. 

Mustard  is  one  of  the  weeds  that  may  be  suc- 
cessfully killed  with  sulphate  of  iron  spray.  The 
weeds  should  be  treated  when  they  have  from 
four  to  eight  leaves,  or  as  soon  as  they  stand  a 

9 


258  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

little  higher  than  the  young  grain.  The  spray  is 
most  effective  if  applied  when  there  is  a  little 
dew  on  the  plants,  but  should  not  be  used  in 
rainy  weather.  The  strength  of  the  solution  is 
100  pounds  of  iron  sulphate  to  52  gallons  of 
water.  Stir  to  dissolve  and  strain  through 
cheese-cloth  so  it  will  not  clog  the  spray  nozzle. 
This  makes  enough  solution  for  one  acre.  Ap- 
ply with  a  force  spray  pump.  Where  this  is 
used  to  kill  the  weeds,  it  turns  some  of  the  grain 
leaves  brown  or  black  and  puts  back  the  growth 
of  the  grain  crop  a  few  days. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


INSECT  ENEMIES. 

Man  has  some  competition  for  the  world's  supply 
of  org-anic  food.  He  must  overcome  his  insect  compet- 
itors. 

INSECTS  Insects   are  small   animals  which  have   six 

legs ;  bodies  often  almost  cut  in  two  and  made  up 
of  segments  or  rings ;  heads  with  feelers  and  two 
to  half  a  dozen  eyes ;  mouth  parts  for  chewing, 
sucking  or  lapping  their  food.  To  those  who 
have  not  studied  the  scientific  classification,  all 
insects  are  bugs  and  to  the  popular  mind,  prac- 
tically all  bugs  are  bad.  Insects  eat  the  same 
kind  of  foods  that  are  necessary  to  other  animals 
and  man.  There  are  a  few  which  are  useful  to 
the  farmers.  Honey  bees  are  the  most  intelli- 
gent of  all  livestock,  for  they  live  in  organized 
communities  and  not  only  gather  the  raw  mate- 
rial but  manufacture  it  into  a  finished  prod- 
uct ready  for  the  use  of  man.  Some  insects  aid 
the  farmer  by  destroying  other  kinds  which  do 
damage  to  his  crops.  These  are  called  predace- 
ous  or  parasitic,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  such 
friends  should  be  fostered.  Some  of  the  useful 
ones  are  the  ground  beetles,  tiger  beetles,  lady- 
birds, ant-lions,  aphis-lions,  mosquito  hawks  and 
parasitic  insects,  which  destroy  countless  num- 
bers that  would  otherwise  eat  our  crops.  In  some 
places  there  are  "lady  birds,"  (small  beetles) 


260  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

that  almost  entirely  destroy  certain  scale  insects 
or  the  eggs  of  potato  beetles,  and  other  detri- 
mental forms.  Many  insects  serve  a  useful  pur- 
pose in  their  relation  to  plants.  They  carry  pol- 
len, securing  cross-fertilization  and  are  indispen- 
sable to  the  perpetuation  of  some  plants.  Of  the 
insects  that  lap  their  food  there  are  none  which 
are  directly  injurious  to  crops.  It  has  been 
shown  that  such  insects  may  carry  disease  from 
one  plant,  to  another  or  from  many  sources  of  in- 
fection to  animals  and  man.  The  house  fly 
seems  to  serve  no  useful  purpose  and  does  untold 
harm  in  spreading  infectious  diseases.  The  war 
on  house  flies  should  never  cease.  The  butter- 
flies and  moths  are  not  directly  injurious,  but 
their  larva,  the  caterpillars,  have  biting  mouths 
and  are  among  the  most  destructive  forms. 

INSECTS  The  mosfc  destructive  insects  that  suck  their 

THAT  SUCK  food  are  plant  lice,  scale  insects,  squash  bugs, 
mosquitoes  and  biting  flies.  We  have  a  great 
variety  of  plant  lice  often  called  the  "green  fly" 
or  "brown  fly"  or  the  "green  bug."  We  cannot 
feed  these  bugs  anything  that  will  kill  them,  be- 
cause they  stick  their  bills  into  their  food  and 
suck  the  juices.  We  must  hit  them  from  the 
outside.  It  may  be  done  by  killing  the  bug  or 
its  eggs  in  the  winter  stage,  as  by  cleaning  up  all 
refuse  like  old  cabbage  stumps,  etc.,  in  the  field 
or  garden,  or  we  may  kill  them  by  contact  pois- 
ons. Insects  breathe  by  means  of  small  pores 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  261 

or  openings  along  the  sides  of  the  body.  By 
clogging  up  these  pores  we  smother  them  to 
death,  or  by  using  caustic  solutions  we  may  burn 
the  life  out  of  them.  For  such  bugs,  therefore, 
we  use  whale  oil  soap,  or  kerosene  emulsion,  or 
tobacco  juice,  or  smoke,  or  gas,  or  fine  dust,  like 
Persian  insect  powder  (Pyrethrum).  For  the 
larger  sucking  insects,  like  the  squash  bug,  the 
most  effectual  method  seems  to  be  to  hand  pick 
and  kill  them  with  a  club. 

There  are  many  slicking  plant  lice  that  live 
on  the  roots  of  plants  and  cannot  be  reached  by 
sprays.  Some  of  these,  like  the  grape  phyloxera 
and  others  may  be  killed  by  injecting  bisulphide 
of  carbon  into  the  ground.  The  gas  goes  down 
thru  the  soil  and  kills  the  insects,  but  does  not 
injure  the  plants.  An  effectual  remedy  for  lice 
on  tree  roots  is  to  work  a  few  pounds  of  pow- 
dered tobacco  into  the  surface  soil  around  the 
tree,  then  wet  it  down.  Tobacco  juice  will  kill 
anything  but  man. 

INSECTS  There  are  great  numbers  of  insects  that  de- 

CHEW 

stroy  crops  by  simply  eating  them.     Such  in- 
sects as  beetles,  grasshoppers  and  caterpillars  are 
,     examples. 

Insects  that  chew  their  food  may  be  de- 
stroyed with  stomach  poisons,  at  least  where  they 
live  on  the  outside  parts  of  plants.  The  poisons 
generally  used  are  Paris  green  or  arsenate  of 
lead.  Sometimes  the  poisons  do  not  work  or  are 


262 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


injurious  to  plants  or  dangerous  to  use,  and  other 
methods  must  be  found. 


KEROSENE 
EMULSION 
FOB  BUGS 


Kerosene  Emulsion  is  made  as  follows:  Dis- 
solve one-half  pound  of  hard  soap  in  one  gallon 
of  soft  boiling  water.  While  the  water  is  hot, 
mix  with  it  two  gallons  of  kerosene.  Put  in  the 
kerosene  and  thoroughly  churn  the  oil  and  soap 
together,  until  the  substance  is  so  mixed  it  is  like 
soft  cream.  When  ready  to  use  mix  one  gallon 
of  this  emulsion  with  twenty-seven  gallons  of 
water,  and  spray  it  over  the  bugs  with  a  spray 
pump  or  sprinkle  it  on  them  with  a  brush  or 
broom.  It  should  be  used  fresh  and  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  spray  the  oil  on  plants  after  it 
has  separated.  This  is  used  to  kill  many  small 
insects,  especially  small  sucking  bugs,  like  plant 
lice. 


WHALE    OIL 
SOAP  FOB 

PLANT    LICE 


A  solution  of  one  pound  of  whale  oil  soap 
in  six  or  eight  gallons  of  water  will  kill  most 
plant  lice  if  thoroughly  sprayed  on  them.  This 
solution  may  be  used  to  wash  house  plants  which 
are  infected  with  scale  insects.  Apply  to  such 
plants  with  a  tooth  brush  or  other  stiff  brush 
which  will  remove  the  scales. 


TOBACCO  Tobacco  is  deadly  to  plant  lice.  "Black  leaf" 

may  be  purchased  in  bulk  and  diluted  by  mixing 
one  gallon  with  seventy  gallons  of  water  and  the 
solution  used  as  a  spray.  Tobacco  decoction  is 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


263 


made  by  steeping  or  boiling  four  pounds  of  to- 
bacco stems  or  two  pounds  of  tobacco  dust  for 
an  hour  with  water  enough  to  cover  and  then 
dilute  to  four  gallons  with  water.  It  should  be 
used  when  fresh. 


PARIS 
GREEN  AND 

ARSENATE 
OF    LEAD 


HOW   TO 
DEAL    WIT] 
SOME 
COMMON 
INSECTS 


GRASS- 
HOPPERS 


There  are  a  host  of  insects  that  feed  on  leaves 
or  other  exposed  parts  of  plants  that  may  be  de- 
stroyed with  stomach  poison.  The  poisons  usu- 
ally employed  are  Paris  green  and  arsenate  of 
lead.  Use  one-half  pound  of  Paris  green  to 
fifty  gallons  of  water  or  two  to  three  pounds  of 
arsenate  of  lead  to  fifty  gallons  of  water  and 
spray  the  solution  over  the  leaves  upon  which  the 
insects  are  feeding.  This  is  an  effectual  remedy 
for  general  use. 

There  is  much  variation  in  the  effect  of  both 
contact  poisons  and  stomach  poisons.  The  gen- 
eral rule  laid  down  for  their  use  will  meet  most 
of  the  insect  problems  with  which  the  western 
farmer  will  have  to  deal.  Some  more  complete 
or  detailed  treatment  for  a  few  of  the  more  com- 
mon and  destructive  insects  will  give  practically 
all  the  information  needed  on  the  subject. 

The  migratory  grasshopper  has  not  com- 
mitted depredations  for  several  years.  There  are 
local  grasshoppers,  however,  which  do  need  the 
farmer's  attention  in  many  farm  regions.  These 
grasshoppers  are  those  which  lay  their  eggs  more 


264  AEID    AGRICULTURE. 

especially  along  the  borders  of  alfalfa  and  other 
fields  and  sometimes  get  so  numerous  that  they 
cause  damage.  They  are  called  locusts  by  en- 
tomologists. The  eggs  hatch  out  early  in  the 
spring  when  there  is  green  vegetation  for  the  lit- 
tle hoppers  to  feed  upon,  and  if  food  is  plenty 
they  do  not  wander  very  far  from  the  place 
where  they  are  hatched  until  they  get  considera- 
ble size.  They  may  be  destroyed  in  several 
ways.  Plowing  or  harrowing,  especially  with 
the  disc  harrow  late  in  fall  or  early  in  spring, 
will  destroy  the  eggs,  as  they  are  quickly  killed 
when  exposed  to  air.  In  running  the  disc  or 
rotary  alfalfa  harrow  over  alfalfa  fields  the  road 
sides  and  ditch  banks  should  also  be  harrowed  on 
account  of  the  grasshoppers  and  other  insects 
which  may  be  killed. 

Grasshoppers  may  be  quite  effectually  de- 
stroyed by  the  use  of  poisoned  bran.  Use  three 
pounds  of  Paris  green  with  one  hundred  pounds 
of  bran  and  moisten  with  water  which  has  been 
sweetened.  Mix  the  dry  poison  and  bran  and 
moisten  so  it  "crawls"  and  will  scatter  like  seed 
when  sown  from  the  hand.  One  hundred  pounds 
will  go  quite  thoroughly  over  25  or  30  acres  of 
alfalfa  or  potato  field.  Mix  in  a  tub  and  scatter 
from  a  buggy  as  you  drive  along.  This  is  espe- 
cially valuable  in  potato  fields  when  grasshop- 
pers are  thick  enough  to  do  damage.  This  poison 
bran  can  be  sown  broadcast  where  the  hoppers 
are  most  numerous.  This  is  undoubtedly  one  of 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


265 


POTATO 

BEETLES 
AND   BEET 

BEETLES 


CUT    WORMS 


the  surest,  best  and  cheapest  of  remedies.  Pro- 
fessor Gillette,  of  Colorado,  says  that  one  of  the 
simplest  and  often  a  very  effectual  remedy,  is  to 
grow  plenty  of  chickens  and  turkeys  to  range 
over  the  infested  fields.  Poultry  must  be  pro- 
tected at  night  against  coyotes  and  other  animals. 
"Where  large  fields  are  affected,  hopperdozers 
may  be  used.  Grasshoppers  collected  in  this 
way  may  be  sacked  and  pressed  or  dried  and 
used  as  breakfast  food  for  poultry. 

The  Colorado  potato  beetle  is  common  almost 
everywhere.  At  our  high  altitudes  this  beetle  is 
sometimes  effectually  held  in  check  by  the  "lady 
birds,'7  which  eat  their  eggs.  Beet  fields  often 
suffer  damage  from  the  ravages  of  blister  beetles 
and  other  leaf-eating  insects.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  destroy  these  insects  by  the  prompt  and  thor- 
ough use  of  the  Paris  green  or  arsenate  of  lead 
spray-. 

The  cut  worms  are  produced  by  night-flying 
moths  and  are  most  difficult  to  treat,  because  they 
hide  in  the  top  soil,  more  especially  during  the 
day.  They  generally  feed  at  night.  They  may 
be  killed  by  baits  of  poisoned  bran  made  as  we 
have  suggested  for  grasshoppers.  A  trap  crop 
may  be  used  in  the  garden  by  planting  radishes 
or  other  plants  which  cut  worms  like,  between 
the  regular  crop  rows.  Good  trap  crops  are 
young  weeds  which  are  eaten  as  well  as  other 


266  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

plants  by  cut  worms.  Spray  the  trap  crop  with 
Paris  green  or  arsenate  of  lead  solution,  or  dust 
Paris  green  mixed  with  flour  from  a  cheese  cloth 
sack  over  the  plants  when  the  dew  is  on.  The 
cut  worms  eating  this  poison  will  be  destroyed 
before  the  regular  crop  comes  up.  A  good 
method  of  protecting  plants  like  cabbage  or  to- 
matoes from  cut  worms  is  to  set  a  small  cylinder 
of  cardboard  or  tin  around  each  one.  A  tin  can 
with  both  ends  melted  off  or  a  small  piece  of  tin 
which  is  bent  by  rolling  around  a  hoe  handle, 
serves  the  purpose. 

THE  This  borer  causes  much  damage  to  vounff  cot- 

COTTONWOOD  -.  ,  ,  .         ?  * 

BORER  tonwood  and  poplar  trees.      As  it  works  under 

cover  inside  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  it  is  difficult  to 
reach.  The  method  is  to  paint  all  places  where 
the  limbs  have  been  cut  off,  or  breaks  in  the  bark 
with  pine  tar  or  white  lead,  take  out  the  borers 
with  a  knife  or  wire  and  trap  the  moths  Avhen 
they  are  flying.  Borers  feed  a  year  or  so  under 
the  bark  before  they  bore  into  the  wood.  Their 
presence  is  detected  by  dark  spots  in  the  bark. 
The  most  effectual  remedy  is  to  dig  them  out  or 
with  a  syringe  force  a  spoonful  of  fuma  in  the 
hole  and  plug  it  up. 

BEAN  In  bean  beetles  we  have  an  instance  where 

the  poison  is  more  deadly  to  plants  than  it  is  to 
the  insects  feeding  upon  them.  The  bean  beetle  is 
a  "spotted  lady  bird,"  the  only  one  of  the  tribe, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  267 

so  far  as  we  know,  that  feeds  on  plants.  Pro- 
fessor Gillette,  of  the  Colorado  Station,  has  been 
working  to  find  an  effectual  means  of  destroying 
the  bean  beetle.  The  best  method  so  far  discov- 
ered seems  to  be  the  very  simple  one  of  knocking 
the  beetles  off  the  plants  on  to  the  ground,  in  the 
very  hottest  and  brightest  part  of  the  day.  The 
beetle  has  the  habit  of  playing  "possum."  Feign- 
ing death — on  the  ground  in  the  hot  sun — really 
results  in  his  committing  suicide  in  a  very  few 
minutes.  Few,  if  any  of  them,  which  do  not 
fall  in  the  shade,  ever  get  back  on  the  plants. 
Another  method  which  is  effective  is  to  examine 
the  under  side  of  the  leaves  and  pick  off  all  those 
which  have  yellow  patches  of  eggs  on  them. 

PEA  The  field  pe-i  is  a  highlv  valuable  crop  in 

WEAVEIS  .    . 

much  of  the  arid  region  and  the  pea  weavel  in 
some  places  is  becoming  common  and  quite  de- 
structive. One  of  the  most  efficient  methods  of 
getting  rid  of  pea  weavels  in  the  field  is  to  de- 
stroy all  the  vines  which  are  left  there  at  the  end 
of  the  season.  This  may  be  done  in  the  garden 
at  least.  The  weavels  may  be  destroyed  in  the 
peas  by  putting  in  a  tight  box  and  setting  a  small 
dish  of  fuma  or  bi-sulphide  of  carbon  on  top  of 
the  peas.  Close  the  box  for  a  few  hours  and  the 
gas  will  go  down  through  the  seed,  killing  the 
live  weavels  or  larva.  Small  amounts  of  seed 
may  be  kept  in  a  tight  box  and  the  weavels  will 


268 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


come  out  before  planting  time,  when  they  may 
be  destroyed. 


POTATO  FLEA 
BEETLES 


CABBAGE 
WORMS 


The  potato  flea  beetle  is  doing  much  damage 
in  some  of  the  potato  sections  of  the  West.  The 
larva  of  this  beetle  goes  into  the  ground  and 
feeds,  on  the  potato.  They  produce  what  is 
called  "crack"  and  make  unsightly  burrows  un- 
derneath the  skin.  The  beetles  which  come  from 
these  larvae  are  little  brown,  or  black  fellows 
which  jump  like  the  turnip  flea  beetle.  The 
beetles  feed  on  the  potato  leaves,  making  small 
holes  in  them.  The  question  of  destroying 
these  beetles  in  potato  fields  seems  to  be  one 
largely  of  rotation  of  crops.  There  are  several 
forms  which  feed  upon  many  other  plants,  more 
especially  turnips,  radishes,  mustard  and  the 
like.  They  may  be  destroyed  by  the  use  of  pyre- 
thrum  or  Persian  Insect  Powder,  put  on  the 
plants  very  early  in  the  morning  before  sunrise, 
or  they  may  be  kept  away  from  plants  by  sprink- 
ling ashes,  slacked  lime  or  sulphur  over  them. 
A  spray  of  bordeaux  mixture  will  serve  the  same 
purpose. 

There  are  two  forms  of  the  cabbage  worm 
which  are  very  common  in  the  West.  One  is  a 
butterfly  caterpillar  and  the  other  is  the  cater- 
pillar of  a  moth.  They  may  be  destroyed,  when 
the  cabbages  are  small,  by  Paris  green  or  ar se- 
nate sprays.  Such  sprays  on  the  outside  leaves 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


269 


will  do  no  damage  and  will  not  be  dangerous 
later  in  the  season. 


CABBAGE 
LICE 


FALSE 
CHINCH 

BUGS 


THE 

WESTERN 

ARMY 

WORM 


The  lice  which  become  so  abundant  on  cab- 
bage, cauliflower,  mustard  and  like  plants  are 
quite  difficult  to  combat.  Kerosene  emulsion 
does  not  effect  them,  because  they  are  covered 
with  powder  which  keeps  the  spray  from  wetting 
them.  To  be  of  use  a  spray  must  be  applied 
with  such  force  that  it  will  knock  the  lice  off  the 
plants.  A  spray  of  hot  water  is  sometimes  ef- 
fectual and  the  user  can  become  so  expert  that  he 
can  use  water  hot  enough  to  kill  the  lice  without 
injuring  the  plants.  A  very  fine  forced  spray 
of  pure  coal  oil  may  do  the  work.  The  prob- 
lems of  dealing  with  such  lice  will  have  to  be 
worked  out  by  each  grower. 

The  true  chinch  bug  has  never  been  destruc- 
tive to  crops  under  irrigation.  There  are  places, 
however,  where  the  false  chinch  bug,  which  looks 
very  much  like  the  ordinary  form,  becomes  quite 
destructive.  In  places  they  destroy  crops  of  beets 
and  may  attack  many  other  crops.  The  kerosene 
emulsion  spray  is  the  only  thing  which  has  been 
suggested  outside  of  crop  management,  and  it 
may  be  said  that  there  is  no  effective  remedy. 

These  army  worms  appear  at  intervals  and 
are  so  thick  and  ravenous  that  they  destroy 
everything  before  them.  Where  army  worms 


270 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


HOUSE 

FLIES 


CLOVER 

SEED 

CHASSIS 


WHY    KILL 
THE   ANTS 


are  present,  they  winter  in  the  larva  or  pupa 
stage,  in  the  surface  soil.  They  may  be  effectu- 
ally destroyed  by  plowing  or  discing  to  turn  the 
soil  up  to  the  air  and  cold.  The  worms  may  be 
killed  with  the  stomach  poisons  used  as  spray. 

We  spoke  of  warring  on  the  house  fly.  The 
principal  method  by  which  they  are  controlled  is 
to  rid  the  premises  of  horse  manure  or  other 
offal  as  fast  as  it  accumulates.  Cleaning  up 
their  breeding  places,  if  carefully  followed  out, 
will  do  much  to  mitigate  this  nuisance.  The  use 
of  sulphate  of  iron  in  the  manure  when  stables 
are  cleaned  has  been  suggested.  Manure  should 
not  be  allowed  to  accumulate  but  should  go  to  the 
field  as  fast  as  made. 

This  is  a  tiny  insect  belonging  to  the  bee 
family.  It  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  young  seed 
of  alfalfa,  when  it  is  forming.  A  tiny  grub 
hatches  from  the  egg  and  eats  the  inside  out  of 
the  seed  during  its  growth,  simply  leaving  empty 
shells,  which  blow  out  when  the  seed  is  cleaned. 
This  insect  causes  considerable  loss  to  clover  and 
alfalfa  seed  growers.  Should  it  get  serious 
enough  in  any  locality  to  make  seed  growing  un- 
profitable, it  will  be  necessary  to  stop  the  seed 
production  for  a  couple  of  years  until  the  insect 
disappears. 

For  many  years  ants  were  not  classed  as  in- 
jurious insects.  They  do  not  directly  eat  farm 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  271 

crops  or  useful  plants,  but  we  know  now  that 
thev  do  other  things  which  make  them  enemies  to 
agriculture.  The  one  useful  thing  which  ants 
apparently  do  is  to  serve  as  an  example  of  indus- 
try to  the  sluggard. 

The  western  mound-building  ant  truly  loves 
the  desert.  She  builds  mounds  of  small  gravel 
and  does  not  allow  any  vegetation  to  exist  for 
some  distance  around  her  home.  On  the  range 
and  in  new  fields,  before  this  ant  becomes  dis- 
couraged by  cultivation  and  drowned  by  irriga- 
tion, she  occupies  much  space  that  should  be  oc- 
cupied with  grass  or  crop.  Each  one  carries  a 
pair  of  scissors  and  industriously  cuts  off  every 
sprouting  grain  or  small  plant  as  fast  as  it  comes 
up. 

Ants  are  destructive  nuisances  around  dwell- 
ings or  in  yards.  They  will  discourage  or  bother 
colonies  of  bees  by  robbing  the  hives  of  their 
honey.  Another  thing  which  ants  do  that  causes 
incalculable  damage  is  to  harbor  and  foster  plant 
lice.  Plant  lice  excrete  as  foecal  matter  a  sweet 
fluid  called  honey-dew.  The  ants  are  very  fond 
of  sweets  and  they  actually  rear  and  care  for  the 
plant  lice  in  return  for  the  food  product.  Some 
ants  carry  the  plant  lice  eggs  into  their  nests  in 
the  fall,  give  them  careful  storage  thru  the  win- 
ter and  in  the  spring  place  them  on  roots  or  ten- 
der shoots  of  plants  where  they  can  begin  the  bus- 
iness of  supplying  honey-dew  to  the  ants  as  soon 
as  thev  hatch.  In  other  cases  the  ants  care  for 


272 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


HOW   TO 

KILL    ANTS 


the  living  plant  lice  in  their  nests,  putting  them 
on  crop  roots  and  moving  them  to  new  pasture 
when  the  old  is  used  up.  It  has  been  found  that 
the  corn  root  louse  depends  for  its  existence  on  a 
small  brown  ant  and  the  way  to  destroy  the  louse 
is  to  make  way  with  his  ant  friend  who  uses  him 
as  productive  livestock. 

Ants,  like  bees, live  in  organized  communities, 
At  the  head  of  each  colony  is  one  or  more  queens 
who  keep  up  the  supply  by  laying  multitudes  of 
eggs.  On  this  account  it  is  not  possible  to  de- 
stroy a  colony  of  ants  by  catching  or  killing  the 
workers  which  are  always  running  around 
looking  for  trouble.  We  must  put  some- 
thing in  the  nest  that  will  reach  the  queen. 
The  best  material  for  the  purpose  is  bi-sulphide 
of  carbon,  or  fuma.  To  destroy  the  nest  put  one 
or  two  ounces  of  fuma  into  the  ground  at  the  top 
and  around  the  nest,  and  cover  with  a  sheet  of 
paper  and  dirt.  The  gas  will  go  down  into  the 
ground  and  kill  everything  it  reaches.  Bi-sul- 
phide of  carbon  is  explosive  and  if  you  light  a 
cigarette  when  handling  it  you  will  probably  not 
live  to  care  whether  the  ants  do  damage  or  not. 


THE    EFFECT 
OF  EARTH- 
WORMS 


Because  angleworms  are  usually  found  in 
rich  soils  or  because  Darwin  wrote  about  how 
they  had  helped  form  new  soils,  many  believe 
they  are  harmless  or  even  useful.  In  some  parts 
of  the  West  angleworms  get  too  numerous  in  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  273 

soil.  When  a  soil  contains  many  of  them  it  is 
injured.  The  earth  worm  eats  soil  and  in  pass- 
ing thru  them  it  is  puddled.  The  tilth  may  be 
so  completely  destroyed  that  plants  will  not 
thrive.  We  have  noted  this  in  many  lawns,  some 
gardens  and  often  in  the  case  of  house  plants 
raised  in  flower  pots. 

REMEDY  FOR  Earth  worms   are  easily  destroyed.     They 

EARTHWORMS  are  cove^d  with  a  thin  and  soft  skin  which  is 


quickly  used  up  by  the  contact  of  lime  water. 
Soil  in  flower  pots  and  even  on  lawTis  or  small 
•gardens  may  be  rid  of  worms  by  liberal  applica- 
tion of  lime  water.  Slack  lime  in  a  barrel  and 
pour  the  clear  lime  water  on  the  soil.  It  has  no 
detrimental  effect  on  growing  plants  and  may  be 
f  reelv  used. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


PLANT  DISEASES. 

One  plant  devours  another  and  the  struggle  for  ex- 
istence often  resolves  itself  into  a  battle  with  bacteria. 


NOT  MUCH 


Our  agri culture  in  the  West,  with  new  soils 
WITH  PLANT  and  arid  climate,  is  comparatively  free  from 
DISEASES  serious  trouble  with  plant  diseases.  As  farm- 

ing increases  and  the  soils  have  been  in  cultiva- 
tion for  some  time,  many  of  them  used  year  after 
year  for  the  production  of  the  same  crop  and  no 
attention  given  to  the  first  appearance  of  sick- 
ness in  plants,  these  diseases  sometimes  steal  up- 
on us  unawares  until  they  occasion  heavy  loss. 
Usually  they  are  not  considered  worthy  of  seri- 
ous thought  until  heavy  loss  has  occurred  and  the 
disease  is  practically  beyond  control.  The 
farmer  must  be  on  the  lookout  for  all  those 
things  which  seem  detrimental  to  his  prosperity. 
The  plant  diseases  of  the  West,  like  other  condi- 
tions which  we  find,  are  different  from  those  of 
the  East,  where  agriculture  has  been  practiced 
for  many  years.  Ofttimes  a  disease  appearing 
in  the  West  is  attributed  to  the  same  cause  which 
produces  a  like  disease  in  the  East,  and  nearly 
as  often  the  observer  who  studies  deeply,  finds 
that  he  has  been  mistaken.  There  are  a  few 
men  in  Western  colleges  and  experiment  stations 
who  are  now  studying  plant  disease  problems. 


-ARID    AGRICULTURE.  275 

Some  of  these  men  believe  the  diseases  we  have 
that  seem  common  to  other  places,  are  new  and 
typical  of  our  own  agriculture.  As  an  example, 
it  has  been  stated  that  the  potato  scab  of  the 
West,  which  scientists  and  writers  have  consid- 
ered identical  with  that  of  the  East,  is  not  the 
same  disease,  but  is  produced  by  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent fungus.  Our  potato  blight  is  a  Western 
potato  blight,  probably  due  to  the  same  fungus 
which  produces  dry  rot,  and  not  to  the  fungus 
which  produces  the  late  blight  of  the  East. 

These  considerations  and  the  new  discoveries 
indicate  that,  even  with  our  plant  diseases,  we 
must  unlearn  the  old  and  learn  the  new.  We 
must  build  up  our  own  knowledge  of  agriculture 
and  take  nothing  for  granted  because  it  appears 
to  be  so  from  what  we  have  known  in  other  coun- 
tries. 

There  are  diseases  of  grain,  such  as  rusts, 
for  which  there  is  no  effective  treatment.  Rusts 
do  not  affect  grains  to  any  extent  in  the  dry  re 
gion,  and  careful  irrigation  may  prevent  dam- 
age from  them.  With  many  diseases  the  solu- 
tion will  be  the  breeding  of  disease-resistant 
strains.  The  cantaloupe  blight  has  been  effectu- 
ally controlled  by  breeding  disease-resistant 
-trains  of  seed.  We  are  now  working  to  control 
the  leaf-spot  disease  of  alfalfa. 

POTATO  There  is  one  great,  ever-present,  and  destruc- 

r*ve  disease  of  potatoes  which  causes  incalculable 


276  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

losses.  This  disease  is  due  to  a  fungus  known 
as  Rhyzoctonia.  It  appears  in  various  forms, 
and  receives  different  names,  according  to  the 
way  it  strikes.  Common  names  for  it  are  "Root 
Rot/'  "Little  Potatoes/7  "Big  Vines  and  Little 
Potatoes/7  "Collar  Rot/7  and  "Blight/'  and  Pro- 
fessor Paddock  informs  me  it  is  the  cause  of 
most  of  the  Western  potato  scab.  This  fungus 
lives  through  the  winter,  either  in  the  soil  or  in 
the  resting  stage  (sclerotia)  on  the  potatoes 
themselves.  The  disease  can  be  recognized 
by  anyone  who  knows  what  to  look  for.  It 
appears  as  spots  of  brown  or  black  on  the  outside 
of  the  potato.  These  spots  may  be  from  the  size 
of  a  pin  point  to  a  quarter  inch  in  diameter,  and 
they  stick  very  tight  to  the  potato  skin.  They 
look  like  particles  of  black  soil.  Seed  potatoes 
with  much  of  this  disease  on  them  should  not  be 
planted,  or  if  they  must  be  planted,  they  should 
be  sunburned,  as  suggested  in  our  chapter  on 
potatoes.  The  principle  remedy  for  this  dis- 
ease, as  stated  by  Professors  Paddock  and  Ben- 
nett, is  to  plant  on  "potato  soil.77  They  class  as 
potato  soil  those  loams  which  are  well  under- 
drained,  or  alfalfa  sod  upon  which  experience 
shows  that  potatoes  will  grow.  There  are  cer- 
tain regions  in  the  West  where  potato  culture 
fails  on  account  of  Rhyzoctonia,  and  with  our 
present  knowledge  such  areas  can  not  be  made  to 
produce  sure  and  heavy  crops  of  potatoes. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  277 

As  stated  above,  this  blight  is  due  to  a  differ- 
ent fungus  from  that  which  produces  the  blight 
of  the  East.  It  is  probably  due  to  the  same  fun- 
gus that  produces  the  dry  rot  of  tubers  in  the 
cellar.  As  this  fungus  works  inside  the  plant,  it 
cannot  be  reached  with  sprays. 

It  has  been  thought  that  this  Western  blight 
of  the  potato  could  be  prevented  or  cured  by 
spraying ;  but  the  new  light  thrown  on  the  cause 
of  our  blight  by  Professor  Paddock  and  his  as- 
sistants in  Colorado  shows  it  to  be  a  disease  for 
which  no  remedy  has  been  discovered.  The  only 
suggestion  made  is  that  the  seed  may  be  cared 
for  in  a  way  which  will  help  prevent  the  blight. 
Potato  cellars  should  be  kept  sanitary  and  well 
ventilated,  and  be  thoroughly  cleaned  out  and 
fumigated.  Crop  rotation  is  indicated,  and  one 
of  the  best  remedies  for  potato  troubles  seems  to 
be  to  always  plant  after  alfalfa  sod,  and  not  fol- 
low potatoes  with  potatoes  on  the  same  soil. 

Some  security  may  be  had  by  dusting  the 
freshly  cut  potatoes  for  seed  with  air-slaked 
lime,  or  flowers  of  sulphur. 


DISEASES  OP  The  Ehyzoctonia  of  the  potato  lives  on   a 

SUGAR  BEETS  numj.)er  of  different  hosts,  such  as  peas,  alfalfa, 
sugar  beets  and  other  things.  It  does  consider- 
able damage  in  places  to  sugar  beets.  Rotation 
of  crops  is  the  indicated  remedy.  Where  it  oc- 
curs never  follow  beets  with  beets. 


278 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


LEAF-SPOT 
OF   BEETS 


CURLY    TOP 
OP   BEETS 


BACTERIAL 
DISEASE  OP 
SQUASH 


The  leaf-spot  comes  on  the  outside  leaves  of 
the  beet  and  travels  inward,  killing  one  ring  after 
another,  causing  the  center  stem  to  grow  tall.  It 
causes  loss  by  producing  poor  beets.  Leaf-spot 
can  be  prevented  by  spraying  with  Bordeaux 
mixture,  but  spraying  is  seldom  resorted  to. 

This  disease  has  been  destructive  in  some 
places.  Professor  Ball,  of  Utah,  finds  curly  top 
is  due  to  injury  to  the  leaf  by  the  punctures  of 
leaf  hoppers.  Anything  which  will  kill  these 
little  bugs  will  cure  the  disease.  Leaf  hoppers 
suck  their  food  and  can  only  be  killed  by  contact 
poisons  like  kerosene  emulsion,  tobacco  sheep 
dip,  or  pyrethrum.  Rotation  of  crops  and  win- 
ter tillage  of  the  soil  would  also  be  effective. 

In  some  seasons  bacterial  disease  will  destroy 
entire  fields  of  squash  vines,  more  especially  the 
Hubbard  squash.  It  attacks  the  plant  at  the 
crown  and  the  first  notice  of  it  is  usually  when 
the  whole  plant  suddenly  wilts.  The  disease 
may  be  spread  from  one  plant  to  another  by 
squash  bugs  or  other  insects  Avhich  puncture  the 
plants  and  carry  the  germs  from  one  to  the  other. 
There  is  no  known  remedy  for  this  disease  ex- 
cept to  pull  and  destroy  at  once  any  plants 
which  go  down.  It  may  be  possible  to  stop  the 
spread  of  the  disease  to  other  plants  in  this  way. 
Usually  killing  the  squash  bugs  will  prevent  its 
spread. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


279 


GROWN 

GALL 


LEAF-SPOT 
OF    ALFALFA 


The  crown  gall  is  a  disease  of  trees.  It  pro- 
duces galls  or  warty  growths  on  the  roots,  more 
especially  near  the  crown  of  the  tree.  Crown 
gall  has  long  been  recognized  as  a  dangerous  and 
troublesome  disease  for  which  there  is  no  known 
remedy.  We  call  attention  to  it  here  to  warn 
those  who  plant  trees  not  to  plant  any  upon 
which  crown  gall  is  present,  but  to  destroy  them 
at  once.  Our  horticultural  laws  are  strict  to 
prevent  the  introduction  of  crown  gall,  but  occa- 
sionally an  affected  tree  will  escape  the  notice  of 
the  inspector,  and  if  one  is  found  it  should  never 
be  planted. 

Leaf-spot  of  alfalfa  is  comparatively  a  new 
disease  in  the  West,  but  it  is  one  which  is  rap- 
idly spreading  and  doing  much  serious  damage. 
It  usually  appears  in  late  summer  in  the  form  of 
small  brown  or  black  spots  on  the  leaves  and 
stems.  The  leaves  soon  curl  up,  turn  yellow,  die 
and  fall  off,  leaving  the  lower  parts  of  the  stems 
bare.  It  is  a  fungus  which  saps  the  vitality  of 
the  plant,  destroys  its  growth,  lowers  the  yield 
and  prevents  the  production  of  seed.  In  some 
fields  the  entire  stand  has  been  destroyed.  Three 
remedies  have  been  suggested.  One  is  the  early 
cutting  of  the  plant  and  removing  it  before  it  gets 
too  dry  in  order  to  prevent  the  shattering  off  of 
the  leaves.  This  takes  away  most  of  the  spores 
of  the  disease.  Another  is  to  cut  the  hay,  let  it 
remain  on  the  ground  until  it  is  thoroughly  dry 


280 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


SOME   NEW 

ALFALFA 

DISEASES 


and  then  burn  it  to  destroy  the  fungus  spores. 
The  third  remedy  is  the  production  of  a  disease  . 
resistant  variety. 

In  Colorado  a  bacterial  blight  of  alfalfa  lias 
made  its  appearance.  When  this  disease  has  in- 
fested a  field  the  results  are  bad.  It  is  usually 
indicated  by  a  poor  first  cutting  of  hay.  When 
the  blight  gets  down  to  the  tap  root  it  kills  out 
the  entire  plant.  ~No  remedy  is  yet  known  for 
it.  In  Kansas  a  red  root  rot  is  reported  on  al- 
falfa, that  works  in  circles,  killing  the  plant  as  it 
travels  through  the  soil.  This  again  seems  to  be 
due  to  Rhyzoctonia.  Another  root  rot  which 
works  on  cotton  is  reported  from  the  Southwest 
on  alfalfa.  There  is  a  rust  affecting  alfalfa,  but 
it  does  not  seem  to  cause  serious  loss.  The 
downy  mildew  which  is  noticed  as  large  yellow 
or  white  areas  on  the  upper  sides  of  the  leaves, 
occurs  during  wet  weather,  but  the  damage  from 
it  is  not  great.  No  doubt  other  diseases  mav 
appear  from  time  to  time.  In  nearly  all  these 
diseases  of  alfalfa  the  plowing  of  the  field  and 
planting  some  other  crop  is  a  general  recommen- 
dation to  be  carried 'out,  or  checking  the  disease 
bv  cultivation  to  aerate  the  soil. 


BORDEAUX 
MIXTURE 


Bordeaux  mixture  is  a  fungicide  which  is 
more  commonly  used  than  any  other  for  the 
treatment  of  all  those  plant  diseases  which  are 
caused  by  fungi  that  grow  on  the  exposed  parts 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  281 

of  plants,  such  as  blights,  mildew  and  leaf-spot. 
It  is  made  by  dissolving  four  pounds  of  blue 
stone  (copper  sulphate)  in  a  gallon  or  so  of  hot 
water.  Slack  four  pounds  of  good  quick-lime 
in  another  gallon  of  water.  Then  dilute  each 
solution  separately  to  twenty-two  and  one-half 
gallons.  Pour  the  dilute  sulphate  and  quick- 
lime solutions  together  and  thoroughly  mix. 
This  makes  forty-five  gallons  of  mixture  ready 
to  spray.  Sometimes  there  is  more  or  less  pre- 
cipitate and  the  mixture  should  be  strained  to 
remove  any  particles  which  might  clog  up  the 
spray  nozzle.  It  is  applied  as  a  fine  spray  with 
any  good  spray  pump.  Copper  sulphate  should 
never  be  dissolved  in  vessels  of  metal.  Bor- 
deaux mixture  should  be  used  while  it  is  fresh, 
as  it  does  not  keep  well  for  any  length  of  time. 
Often  where  there  are  both  plant  diseases  and 
insects  the  Bordeaux  mixture  is  made  into  a 
stomach  poison  by  adding  one  pound  of  Paris 
green  or  two  pounds  of  arsenate  of  lead  to  the 
above  amount  of  spray. 

GRAIN  SMUTS  Grain  smuts  are' known,  to  all  farmers,  and 
we  need  not  describe  them.  Smut  affects  wheat, 
oats  and  barley,  and  the  treatment  for  ajl  these 
grain  troubles  is  the  same.  For  corn  smut  there 
is  no  remedy  except  to  prevent  the  soil  from  be- 
coming contaminated  by  cutting  out  and  de- 
stroying the  smut  as  soon  as  it  appears. 


282 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


TREATMENT 
OP  SMUT 


FORMALIN 
FOB   SMUT 


As  smut  causes  very  much  damage  and  is  an 
easily  preventable  disease,  it  is  simply  the  farm- 
er's negligence  if  he  does  not  avoid  any  loss  from 
this  source.  Probably  the  easiest  and  one  of  the 
most  effectual  treatments  to  prevent  smut  is  the 
use  of  blue-stone.  Farmers  object  to  a  method 
which  requires  long  soaking  of  the  grain.  A 
quick  way  commonly  used  is  to  put  three  teacups 
full  of  blue-stone  in  half  a  barrel  of  water  and 
dip  the  grain  for  fifteen  minutes.  The  sprink- 
ling of  grain  with  the  copper  sulphate  solution, 
as  recommended  for  formalin,  has  proved  ef- 
fectual. If  the  grain  is  badly  smutted,  and 
using  it  can  not  be  avoided,  the  following  treat- 
ment will  be  sure :  Dissolve  one  pound  of  cop- 
per sulphate  in  24  gallons  of  water.  This  is 
best  done  by  putting  the  sulphate  in  a  gunny 
sack  and  hanging  it  in  the  top  of  the  barrel  or 
other  vessel  containing  the  water.  After  it  is 
all  dissolved,  soak  the  grain  for  twelve  hours. 
At  the  end  of  the  time  take  out  and  drain.  Then 
place  for  fifteen  minutes  in  lime  water  made  by 
slacking  one  pound  of  lime  in  ten  gallons  of 
water. 

Formalin,  or  formaldehyde,  is  sold  at  the 
drug  stores  in  about  forty  per  cent,  strength. 
Mix  one  pound  of  formalin  in  forty  gallons  of 
water.  Spread  the  grain  on  a  clean  floor  or  can- 
vas and  with  a  sprinkling  pot  or  spray  pump, 
sprinkle  the  grain  with  the  formalin  solution, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  283 

shoveling  it  over  until  all  of  it  is  thoroughly 
moistened.  This  amount  of  formalin  will  treat 
from  a  ton  to  a  ton  and  one-half  of  grain.  After 
treating,  put  the  grain  in  a  pile  and  cover  with 
old  sacks  or  canvas  for  two  or  three  hours.  Then 
spread  it  out  where  the  air  will  dry  it  as  quickly 
as  possible.  If  this  treatment  is  carefully  done, 
it  is  effectual,  but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  get 
the  solution  too  strong  or  it  will  injure  the  ger- 
mination of  the  grain. 

HOT  WATER  The   Jensen   hot   water   treatment   is   often 

used.  The  things  which  recommend  it  are :  it  is 
effective  if  properly  done;  it  is  non-poisonous 
and  causes  the  grain  to  germinate  more  quickly 
than  any  other  treatment.  The  method  consists 
in  soaking  the  grain  for  ten  minutes  in  water, 
which  is  kept  at  a  temperature  of  132  degrees  to 
134  degrees  Fahrenheit. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE   ARID 
REGION  IS 

NATURALLY 
FULL    OF 
LIFE 


RODENTS  AND  BIRDS. 

The  farmer  must,  love  his  enemies  with  effectual, 
death-dealing-  dope,  but  he  should  recognize,  protect  and 
foster  his  friends. 

Our  country  of  so-called  little  vegetation  sup- 
ports a  remarkably  varied  plant  and  animal  life. 
It  is  not  generally  known,  but  is  true,  that  in 
some  States  of  the  West,  botanists  have  classified 
and  put  on  record  more  kinds  of  plants  than  are 
found  in  humid,  Eastern  States.  Bird  life  is 
varied  and  abundant,  and  there  are  surprising 
numbers  and  kinds  of  small  animals  and  insects. 
A  country  favorable  to  other  kinds  of  organic 
life  is  favorable  to  man.  The  farmer  must  have 
dominion  and  to  do  so  he  must  at  times  cope 
with  enemies  which  would  destroy  his  profits  or 
share  his  crops  without  compensation.  The  class 
of  animals  most  destructive  is  the  small,  fur- 
bearing  gnawers,  or  rodents.  Among  them  he 
must  deal  with  gophers,  ground  squirrels  and 
prairie-dogs,  chipmunks,  moles,  mice  and  rats, 
skunks,  weasels,  badgers  and  rabbits.  The  irri- 
gator  is  bothered  with  beavers  and  muskrats. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


285 


Toads,  frogs,  lizards  and  siiakes  (except  the 
rattler)  are  friends,  and  we  would  class  as  doing 
more  good  than  harm,  skunks,  weasels  and  badg- 
ers, if  they  can  be  kept  away  from  the  poultry 
yard.  Toads  and  frogs  catch  insects ;  snakes 
destroy  numerous  insects  and  mice ;  skunks,  wea- 
sels and  badgers  destroy  insects  and  great  num- 
bers of  undesirable  rodents. 


Plate  XL.IV.      The  Wyoming  Ground-Squirrel. 

By  Permission  of  the  Wyo.  Exp.  Station. 

The  damage  done  to  field  crops  and  stored 
irrains  by  rodents  is  beyond  computation.  In 
some  sections  of  the  country  one  rodent  will  be 
numerous  and  in  another  some  other  kind  will 
leave  his  mark  on  the  farmer's  profits.  Like 
manv  other  things  which  are  met  with  on  new 


286 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


NOT    DIFFI- 
CULT  TO 
KEEP   THE 
RASCALS 
DOWN 


GIVE   THE 
BOY   A   GUN 


farms  or  in  new  countries,  the  rodent  problem 
sometimes  calls  for  intelligent  and  prompt  ac- 
tion. There  are  places  and  times  where  prairie- 
dogs,  prairie-squirrels,  kangaroo  rats  and  rab- 
bits will  take  care  of  newly-planted  grain  crops 
so  well  that  there  is  nothing  left  to  sack  up  for 
the  ravages  of  mice.  Chipmunks  and  rats  seem 
to  enjoy  digging  up  newly  planted  seeds,  as  well 
as  the  old-fashioned  crow  enjoyed  pulling  corn. 

Neither  worry  nor  discouragement  need  be 
caused  by  rodents.  New  land  can  be  cleared  of 
them  sometimes  by  ordinary  farm'  operations, 
and  at  others  by  the  expenditure  of  a  few  cents, 
or  at  most  a  few  dollars  per  acre.  Irrigation 
is  unpleasant  to  dry-climate  animals  that  burrow 
in  the  soil,  and  often  the  irrigating  of  the  land 
drives  out  or  destroys  all  the  undesirable  inhab- 
itants. 

It  is  good  for  every  small  boy  nine  years  of 
age  or  older,  to  learn  two  things  in  addition  to 
his  ordinary  education.  He  should  learn  to 
shoot  and  he  should  learn  not  to  shoot.  It  is  a 
part  of  a  liberal  education  to  learn  to  use  a  gun, 
especially  a  rifle.  It  teaches  accuru,cy,  deliber- 
ateness,  nerve  and  muscle  control,  ^ution,  ac- 
tivity, self-reliance,  restraint,  and  other  traits. 
It  gives  the  boy  the  liveliest  interest  in  out-door 
life  and  instills  red  and  healthy  blood  into  his 
veins. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  287 

The  boy  should  learn  not  to  shoot  himself, 
his  friends,  nor  the  friends  of  his  father's  busi- 
ness. If  taught  not  to  kill  birds  or  other  things 
that  are  useful,  the  boy  gets  a  first  valuable  les- 
son in  economics.  With  a  gun  and  a  little  time, 
a  boy  or  two  will  exterminate  many  prairie-dogs 
or  other  rodents,  and  his  bag  of  rabbits,  both 
protects  the  crops  and  helps  supply  the  table.  The 
boy  learns  the  value  of  game,  and  if  properly 
taught,  he  learns  to  respect  the  laws  for  game 
protection,  and  not  to  let  his  desire  for  sport 
carry  him  beyond  getting  what  can  be  readily 
used.  Train  the  boy  never  to  point,  even  a  toy 
pistol,  at  .anything  he  does  not  intend  to  shoot ; 
never  to  leave  a  gun  loaded  or  carry  it  cocked ; 
that  a  gun  is  always  loaded  until  proved  empty ; 
that  the  empty  gun  is  the  one  that  is  really 
dangerous,  and  that  the  muzzle  of  a  grin  is  its 
dangerous  end,  and  there  will  be  little  probabil- 
ity of  his  meeting  with  any  serious  trouble.  A 
gun  should  be  an  interesting  instrument  to  any 
boy  from  ten  years  of  age  to  eighty — get  him 
one.  It  will  make  him  happy — it  will  help  on 
the  ranch. 

The  right  kind  of  traps  are  effectual  means 
•  t  eeping  down  some  of  the  rodents.  The  boys 
of  the  farm  often  do  much  good  catching  depre- 
dating animals,  and  by  the  sale  of  skins  or  get- 
ting the  bounties  paid  by  the  State,  some  pocket 
money  is  obtained.  Small  cyclone  traps,  at- 


288 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


tended  to,  will  do  much  to  rid  the  premises  of 
mice. 


KEEPING 
CATS 


DESTROYING 
RODENTS 
WITH  GAS 


Some  good  cats  on  a  place  are  often  most 
profitable  stock.  A  mother  cat  with  young  kit- 
tens to  feed,  usually  does  much  effectual  hunt- 
ing*. In  order  to  get  the  most  out  of  cats,  they 
must  be  treated  and  fed  properly.  Keep  them 
out  of  doors,  feed  them  only  milk  or  milk  and 
cereal  foods,  and  make  them  get  their  own  sup- 
ply of  meat.  We  have  known  of  western  farms 
almost  cleared  of  rats,  mice  and  chipmunks  in  a 
single  year  by  a  half  dozen  good  cats. 

Any  rodents  which  live  in  holes  that  remain 
open  at  the  top  of  the  ground,  like  prairie-dogs 
and  prairie-squirrels  (often  called  gophers),  may 
be  effectually  destroyed  by  smothering  them  with 
poisonous  gas.  In  Nebraska  they  have  used  the 
compound  from  which  Pintsch  gas  is  manufac- 
tured. The  more  common  gas  for  rodents  is  bi- 
sulphide of  carbon,  called  "hokey  pokey"  or 
"medicine"  by  cowboys  who  sometimes  put  it  on 
a  horse  to  make  him  active,  when  a  "tender-foot" 
gets  into  the  saddle. 

This  is  a  vile-smelling  liquid  made  from  coal 
and  sulphur.  The  commercial  product  is  called 
"fuma."  It  sells  at  wholesale  for  about  ten  cents 
per  pound.  It  evaporates  very  rapidly'  and  is 
dangerously  explosive  if  set  on  fire.  The  method 
of  using  fuma'is  to  saturate  balls  of  cotton,  or 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


289 


what  serves  the  purpose  equally  well,  dried  horse 
balls,  with  two  or  three  ounces  of  the  liquid  and 
roll  them  down  the  open  burrows,  after  which 
the  holes  are  filled  with  soil.  The  gas  formed 
is  heavy  and  going  down  into  the  hole  kills  every 
living  thing  in  it.  It  is  best  used  at  sundown 
when  the  squirrels  or  dogs  are  at  home.  Badly 
infested  lands  may  be  cleared  of  these  rodents  at 
a  cost  of  three  dollars  or  less  per  acre.  It  can- 
not fail,  unless  too  little  of  the  liquid  is  used. 
Covering  the  treated  holes  gives  a  check  on  the 
work.  If  the  rodents  dig  them  open  again  the 
gas  was  either  not  strong  enough  or  the  animal 
was  not  at  home. 


POISON  FOB 
RODENTS 


RECEIPT 

FOB 

POISONED 

GRAIN 


The  most  effectual  way  of  getting  rid  of 
prairie-dogs  and  certain  other  rodents  is  to 
poison  them.  There  has  been  difficulty  in  get- 
ting these  animals  to  eat  poisoned  grain.  Strych- 
nine is  usually  used,  and  being  the  bitterest  sub- 
stance known,  few  animals  will  eat  it  unless  the 
taste  is  covered  up.  A  few  years  ago  a  method 
was  discovered  of  doing  this  and  still  leaving  the 
poison  active.  The  method  has  been  kept  secret 
in  many  places. 

The  following  receipt  makes  up  one  of  the 
most  deadly  poisons  known.  It  is  sure  and  sud- 
den death  to  anything  that  eats  it.  Therefore, 
take  all  the  precautions  necessary  to  prevent  acci- 
dent. One  mistake  might  cause  years  of  regret. 
10 


290  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Do  not  use  anything  to  mix  the  poison  in  or  to 
keep  the  poisoned  grain  in  that  will  ever  be  used 
for  any  other  purpose.  Buy  a  two-gallon  glazed 
crock  to  mix  the  poison  in  and  after  the  liquid 
has  been  stirred  into  the  wheat  use  a  hammer  on 
the  crock  and  bury  the  pieces.  Use  an  iron  tub 
to  mix  the  grain  in  and  then  keep  the  tub  for  that 
purpose. 

This  receipt,  using  one  bushel  of  wheat,  will 
make  enough  poison  to  destroy  a  prairie-dog- 
town  of  twenty-five  hundred  holes. 

Take  1  bushel  wheat, 

3  ounces  strychnine, 

8  ounces  cyanide  of  potassium, 

1  teaspoonful  oil  anise, 

2  quarts  molasses, 

4  quarts  water, 

2  quarts  corn  meal. 

Put  the  strychnine  in  a  quart  of  water  in  a 
tin  can,  and  the  potassium  cyanide  in  another 
can  with  a  quart  of  water.  Set  on  the  stove  and 
let  come  to  a  boil,  stirring  with  a  stick  to  dissolve 
the  poison.  The  strychnine  may  not  all  dissolve. 
Be  careful  not  to  breathe  the  fumes  from  the 
cyanide.  Then  pour  the  two  poisons  together 
in  a  larger  can  or  the  jar  spoken  of.  Add  two 
quarts  more  of  warm  water  and  the  molasses  and 
let  come  to  a  boil  again.  Stir  thoroughly  and 
let  cool.  Then  add  the  oil  of  anise  and  stir  more. 
Put  the  wheat  in  the  tub  and  add  the  poison  mix- 
ture a  little  at  a  time  and  mix  until  every  grain 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  291 

is  wet  with.  it.  Mix  in  the  dry  corn  meal  to  take 
up  any  excess  of  moisture  and  spread  out  or  set 
away  to  dry.  This  poisoned  grain  may  be  kept 
an  indefinite  length  of  time  in  tight  boxes  or 
buckets  or  sacks. 

HOW  TO  USE  Prairie-dog?   and  other  squirrels  should  be 

POISONED  ,    .         _ &  .  ,, 

GRAIN  poisoned  in  the  spring  when  they  first  come  out 

of  their  burrows.  They  are  then  hungry  and 
there  is  little  food  supply.  The  poison  is  often 
spread  by  a  man  on  horseback.  He  carries  a 
bucket  or  sack  of  poisoned  grain  and  drops  a 
good  spoonful  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  each  hole. 
In  a  few  days  or  a  week  the  treatment  may  be 
repeated  to  get  the  few  that  may  remain  alive. 

This  poison  is  most  deadly.  It  will  destroy 
the  life  of  anything  that  eats  it.  This  is  its  one 
objectionable  feature.  Great  care  must  be  used 
not  to  make  or  put  it  in  vessels  that  are  used  for 
any  other  purpose  and  not  to  leave  it  where  chil- 
dren can  get  it  or  where  the  unsuspecting  may 
feed  it  to  chickens  or  other  stock.  Label  plainly 
with  skull  and  cross-bones.  It  must  not  be  used 
in  fields  where  hogs,  sheep,  chickens  or  larger 
stock  are  running  at  large.  In  all  such  places, 
unless  stock  can  be  kept  away,  use  the  safer  gas 
method. 


THE  POCKET  This  little  beast  is  destructive  and  bother- 

some.    He  lives  entirely  underground  and  does 
three  kinds  of  damage.     He  eats  the  roots  of  al- 


292  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

falfa,  fruit  trees,  garden  vegetables  and  other 
things.  He  throws  up  mounds  of  earth  which 
don't  belong  there  and  which  dull  our  mowing 
machines,  cover  growing  crops  and  interfere  with 
harvest.  He  punctures  the  soil  with  holes  which 
often  seriously  interfere  with  irrigation,  break- 
ing ditches,  carrying  away  the  water  and  wash- 
ing the  soil.  There  are  not  as  many  of  these 
gophers  as  we  would  think,  for  one  of  them  will 
throw  up  many  mounds,  twenty  or  more,  in  a 
day.  Few  know  how  to  go  about  getting  rid  of 
them,  so  they  are  altogether  too  much  left  alone. 

HOW  TO  GET  The    pocket    gopher    cannot    be    effectively 

THESE  killed  with  gas  as  the  ground-squirrel  or  prairie- 

G-OFHEBS  fog      jje  mav  ^e  trappec[  by  the  use  of  small 

steel  traps  set  in  the  burrows  or  runways.  It  is 
necessary  to  dig  a  hole  between  the  mounds  to 
find  the  runway  which  is  usually  less  than  a  foot 
below  the  surface,  and  the  trap  carefully  set 
where  the  gopher  will  put  his  foot  in  it.  Un- 
doubtedly poisoning  is  the  best  method.  A  little 
strychnine  in  a  piece  of  carrot,  parsnip,  potato, 
apple  or  raisin  placed  in  the  fresh  runways,  will 
do  the  work.  A  better  method,  perhaps,  is  to 
drop  carefully  a  spoonful  of  poisoned  grain  in 
the  fresh  burrow. 

When  fresh  mounds  are  thrown  up  in  a  field, 
locate  the  new  burrow  by  pushing  a  sharpened 
stick  or  iron  rod  into  the  ground  between  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  293 

mounds,  until  you  strike  the  burrow.  Then 
drop  in  the  grain  or  other  poisoned  bait. 

BABBITS  The  injury  by  rabbits  outside  of  merely  eat- 

ing crops  and  forage,  is  mainly  confined  to 
gnawing  the  bark  of  young  trees,  especially  ap- 
ples. Numerous  suggestions  have  been  made 
about  the  use  of  some  liquid  or  paint  to  protect 
trees  from  rabbits.  'None  of  these  are  very  ef- 
fectual preventatives.  There  are  two  methods 
to  pursue  outside  of  destroying  the  rabbits.  One 
is  the  use  of  rabbit-proof  fence.  Woven  wire 
fence  with  two-inch  mesh  and  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  high  will  keep  out  cottontails  and  jack- 
rabbits.  The  fence  should  be  placed  three  or 
four  inches  under  ground  by  plowing  a  furrow 
and  at  the  bottom  lay  a  galvanized  barbwire  with 
as  close  barbs  as  you  can  obtain.  Individual  tree 
protectors  of  wire  or  thin  wood  are  useful  and 
the  wood  ones  are  protection  against  the  winds 
and  bright  sunshine  as  well.  Rabbits  may  be 
easily  and  successfully  trapped.  The  Wellhouse 
trap,  consisting  of  a  dark  box  six  inches  square 
and  20  inches  long,  with  a  trap  door  in  front, 
held  up  by  a  wire  inside,  with  a  loop  hanging- 
down  in  the  back  of  the  box  for  the  rabbit  to  push 
against  to  let  the  door  down  and  shut  himself  in, 
is  one  of  the  cheapest  and  best  traps.  ~No  bait  is 
used  and  the  rabbit  merely  runs  into  the  trap  to 
hide.  Don't  forget  to  visit  the  traps  and  take 
the  rabbits  out  before  they  suffer  or  die  of  hun- 
ger. 


294  AKID    AGRICULTURE. 

WORD  ISTearly  all  birds  are  farmer's  friends.     You 

should  not  let  the  fact  that  birds  do,  at  times,  eat 
a  little  of  your  grain  or  fruit,  irritate  you.  Re- 
member that  you  can  afford  to  feed  them.  Even 
if  against  your  own  intentions  you  occasionally 
supply  a  young  chicken  to  a  too  friendly  hawk 
or  owl,  you  should  not  harbor  a  resentment  that 
will  cause  you  to  indiscriminately  take  the  life 
of  these  birds.  Killing  birds  (or  killing  toads 
or  harmless  snakes)  is  "destroying  the  goose  that 
lays  the  golden  egg."  Often  successful  farming 
is  successful  war  against  insects  and  weeds.  The 
best  of  soldiers  to  enlist  in  this  warfare  are  birds. 
There  are  a  few  exceptions,  but  they  may  be 
counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  if  you  have 
lost  your  thumb.  I  would  not  let  magpies  get 
too  numerous,  for  they  are  mischievious  and 
great  destroyers  of  other  birds'  nests.  I  would 
never  fail  to  shoot  the  pesky  little  sparrow  hawk, 
for  he  does  more  damage  than  good  by  warring 
on  our  better  bird  friends.  Sparrow  hawks  de- 
stroy many  grasshoppers,  but  we  had  better  feed 
the  grasshoppers  to  meadow  larks  and  turkeys. 
The  large-sized,  rough  legged  or  Cooper's  hawks 
may  be  destroyed  for  the  same  reason.  The  Eng- 
lish sparrow  is  a  pest  and  altogether  too  numer- 
ous. When  blackbirds  get  too  thick  it  is  well  to 
put  "f our  and  twenty  in  a  pie."  I  fully  believe  in 
the  proper  use  of  game  birds  in  season,  but  too 
many  are  ignorant  of  the  restrictions  and  are  not 
law-abiding  citizens  in  this  regard.  The  differ- 


Plate  XLV.     Sparrow  Hawks  and  Cooper's  Hawk. 
By  Permission  University  of  Wyoming. 


296  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

ent  States  protect  insectivorous  birds  by  law,  and 
have  specified  open  seasons  for  game.  This  lit- 
tle bird  talk  is  not  sentiment.  It  is  pure  philo- 
sophic economy. 


Part  VI. 


LIVE  STOCK. 

The  rule  of  mind  shall  fill  the  earth 
With  forms  to  which  man  gives  new  birth. 
With  soil,  and  plant,  and  given  time, 
He  turns  to  flesh  all  earthly  grime. 
His  cattle  all,  both  large  and  small 
shall  thrive  in  field  or  in  the  stall.    . 
For  great  is  man  and  great  his  rod; 
He's  the  perfect  image  of  his  true  God. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


THE  RANGING  OF  LIVE  STOCK. 

The   nomadic   range   robber  has   disappeared  before 
the  home-builder,  and  a  more  civilized  system  prevails. 

EXTENT  OP  It  is  comparatively  few  years  since  all  the 

THE  RANGE  —^  region  was  range.  There  have^  been  en- 
croachments through  reclamation  by  dry  farm- 
ing and  irrigation.  The  principal  condition 
which  has  broken  up  the  general  free  use  of  the 
range  is  that  the  land,  with  water,  has  largely 
passed  into  private  ownership.  Much  of  the  land 
that  can  be  easily  irrigated  has  been  filed  on  un- 
der the  several  land  laws,  and  the  water-supply 
has  passed  into  private  ownership  and  control. 
A  large  extent  of  the  arid  region  will  always  re- 
main range  land,  and  the  ranging  of  live  stock  in 
connection  with  the  use  of  the  cultivable  area 
will  always  be  an  important  consideration.  It 
is  estimated  that  after  we  deduct  the  lands  which 
can  be  irrigated,  and  those  available  for  dry 
farming,  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  total  area  still  re- 
mains as  forest  and  grazing  land. 

RANGE  ALL  There  is  no  opportunity  left  for  new  settlers 

to  enter  into  the  business  of  ranging  live  stock  in 
the  West,  unless  they  secure  control  of  ranch  and 
range  by  purchase  or  lease.  The  free  open 
ranges  of  the  West  are  all  overstocked.  During 
the  prosperous  times  of  the  past  few  years  sheep- 


300  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

men  occupying  the  great  ranges  have  so  in- 
creased their  flocks  that  the  forage  is  depleted, 
and  undoubtedly  there  are  many  ranges  upon 
which  grazing  animals  do  not  get  sufficient  feed 
to  do  their  best.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  de- 
crease in  weight  of  feeder  lambs.  Some  flock 
owners  whose  lambs  formerly  averaged  from 
sixty-five  to  seventy  pounds  when  sold  in  the  fall, 
have  found  them  weighing  less  than  sixty  pounds 
even  in  a  good  season,  when  the  only  apparent 
reason  for  the  decrease  was  the  lack  of  food  and 
their  necessity  of  traveling  too  far  to  obtain  it. 

There  are  a  few  sections  where  large  open 
ranges  of  public  land  are  still  in  use,  but  they  are 
controlled  by  range  men,  who  acquire  title  to  the 
water-supply  and  either  fence  the  water  or  hire 
riders  to  see  that  no  stock  but  their  own  gain  ac- 
cess to  it.  Such  range  men  hire  a  water  gang- 
that  looks  after  the  building  of  small  reservoirs 
or  water  holes  and  the  development  and  care  of 
all  the  water-supply  on  the  range.  If  an  outsider 
attempts  to  run  his  stock  on  such  range,  they  are 
kept  away  from  the  water  unless  the  owner  of  the 
stock  pays  tribute  to  the  company  controlling  the 
range. 

The  free  use  of  the  public  domain  has  made 
it  necessary  that  stockmen  exert  some  manage- 
ment to  make  the  business  certain  or  profitable. 
This  has  everywhere  given  rise  to  stock  associa- 
tions. The  cattlemen  divide  among  themselves 
a  certain  section  of  the  country ;  each  knows  how 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


301 


RATIONAL 
USE    OF    THE 
RANGE 


AMOUNT   OP 

RANGE 
REQUIRED 


many  cattle  he  may  run  on  the  range,  and  lines, 
called  dead  lines,  are  drawn,  across  which  the 
sheepmen  must  not  range  their  flocks. 

Ranchmen  who  own  lands  adjoining  the 
range  territory  naturally  have  the  first  right  to 
the  use  of  their  proportion  of  such  grazing  land. 
The  kind  of  stock  ranged  by  the  smaller  ranch- 
man will,  of  necessity,  he  horses  or  cattle,  unless 
the  range  area  is  sufficient  in  size  to  support  one 
or  more  flocks  of  sheep  with  a  herder.  A  ranch- 
man could  not  afford  to  hire  a  herder  for  a  much 
less  number  of  sheep  than  2,000  head.  If  he 
has  sufficient  farm  land  to  raise  winter  feed  for 
this  number  of  sheep,  he  should  have  from  five 
to  ten  sections  of  range  or  from  3,000  to  6,000 
acres.  If  he  has  only  one  section  of  grazing 
land,  he  may  pasture  upon  it  from  ten  to  twenty 
head  of  cattle  or  horses  during  the  season  when 
they  could  not  be  kept  in  the  home  fields. 

The  number  of  acres  in  native  pasture  which 
is  necessary  to  support  an  animal  varies  in  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  country,  depending  upon 
the  arrangements  at  the  home  ranch  for  the  rais- 
ing of  pasture  and  feed  and  upon  the  condition 
of  the  native  forage  plants.  Northern  ranges 
and  those  of  high  altitudes  are  covered  princi- 
pally with  short  grasses,  and  those  further  south 
or  at  low  altitudes  may  have  as  their  pricipal 
vegetation  sage  brush  and  salt  sages.  Where  the 


302  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

range  is  the  only  dependence  through  the  year, 
the  area  required  will  vary  from  thirty  acres  to 
fifty  acres  for  each  head  of  cattle  or  about  one- 
tenth  the  amount  for  each  sheep.  Sheep  bite 
closer  than  cattle  and  also  eat  many  weeds  and 
browse,  not  so  well  suited  to  cattle.  Horses  also 
eat  grass  more  closely  than  cattle  and  are  more 
active,  so  they  can  range  over  a  larger  area. 

WINTER  There  are  considerable  areas  in  the  mountain 

region  which  are  still  classed  as  desert.  These 
deserts  are  not  barren  wastes  of  sand  and  vacant 
ground,  but  support  considerable  forage.  There 
may  be  little  or  no  true  grass,  but  they  generally 
produce  variable  amounts  of  sage  brush,  grease- 
wood,  bud-brush,  annual  weeds,  and  most  impor- 
tant of  all,  shad-scale  and  other  salt  sages  in  a 
number  of  varieties.  These  desert  areas  are  far 
away  from  water.  The  water  found  on  them  is 
filled  with  salts  and  alkali  so  it  is  not  fit  for  man 
or  beast.  These  lands  are  proving  of  great  value 
for  winter  range  where  snowdrifts  supply  moist- 
ure for  sheep.  Sheep  will  thrive  for  some  time 
without  any  moisture  and  go  through  the  winter 
in  good  condition  where  they  can  get  snow.  The 
eastern  sheep-raiser  thinks  that  sheep  should  not 
be  allowed  to  eat  snow.  Western  sheepmen  of 
long  experience  testify  that  their  sheep  do  even 
better  on  snow  in  the  winter  than  where  they  get 
water  to  drink.  The  desert  forage  is  remarka- 
bly rich  in  flesh  and  wool  forming  food  elements. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  303 

The  alkali  salts  in  the  forage  take  the  place  of 
common  salt,  saving  a  large  item  of  expense  to 
flock  masters  who  run  their  sheep  at  long  dis- 
tance- from  railroad  points.  Stock  of  all  kinds 
on  the  range  must  be  salted  unless  they  can  get 
this  natural  supply.  The  best  ranchmen  keep 
either  coarse  salt  or  rock  salt  before  their  cattle 
all  the  time.  Salt  is  best  fed  in  boxes  and  near 
the  home  ranch.  In  boxes,  because  cattle  some- 
times lick  up  enough  gravel  and  dirt  to  either  in- 
jure or  kill  them ;  near  the  home  ranch  because 
it  induces  the  cattle  to  stay  where  they  belong. 
An  example  of  desert  range  is  the  red  desert,  in 
Wyoming,  which  covers  an  area  about  as  great 
as  Massachusetts  and  supplies  forage  through  the 
winter  for  more  than  2,000,000  sheep. 

SUMMER  In  the  mountain  region  it  is  customary  to 

use  the  mountains  for  summer  range  and  move 
the  flocks  to  the  lower  plains  for  their  winter 
pasture.  The  larger  part  of  this  mountain  range 
is  now  controlled  by  the  Forest  Reserves.  Sheep 
are  usually  moved  onto  mountain  ranges  just 
before  lambing,  or  sometimes  after  lambing 
and  shearing.  Cattle  are  taken  to  the  mountain 
ranges  from  the  ranch  in  the  early  spring  or 
after  the  July  roundup.  Permits  must  be  ob- 
tained from  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  and  the  reg- 
ulations designate  the  particular  area  upon 
which  the  stock  must  be  grazed  and  the  fee  per 
head  which  is  charged  for  this  privilege. 


304  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

IMPROVE-  That  depleted  ranges  may  again  be  brought 

MENT    OP 
THE  RANGE 


MEN'  into  profitable  grazing  condition  is  well  estab- 


lished. There  is  no  inducement,  however,  to  im- 
prove the  open  range  unless  the  ranchman  is 
able  to  control  it.  Wise  range  stockmen  who  are 
in  the  business  to  stay  have  secured  control  of 
these  ranges  either  by  lease  or  in  the  manner  in- 
dicated under  our  discussion  of  the  water  con- 
trol. Many  western  farmers  now  own  sufficient 
areas  of  land  to  make  the  grazing  of  their  stock 
in  pastures  an  important  part  of  their  business 
and  the  grasses  in  these  pastures  may  be  con- 
trolled and  improved  in  a  way  that  could  not  be 
in  the  open.  Many  of  our  native  grasses  are 
perennials  with  root  stalks.  In  time  all  these 
grasses  will  die  if  not  allowed  to  re-seed  them- 
selves. They  may  be  greatly  stimulated  and  im- 
proved by  soil  cultivation.  A  sharp  drag  har- 
row or  disc  run  over  the  pasture  loosens  the  soil 
and  breaks  the  root  stalks,  which  makes  them 
throw  out  new  buds  and  stems. 

On  the  open  range  where  associations  of 
stockmen  control,  the  range  may  be  kept  in  good 
condition  by  preventing  overstocking.  Some 
large  operators  do  not  allow  more  cattle  on  the 
range  than  the  proportion  of  one  animal  to  each 
fifty  acres.  This  is  a  good  suggestion  for  a 
neighborhood  of  farmers  or  ranchmen  who  are 
using  the  range  in  common,  to  pursue.  Some  of 
our  ranges  will  undoubtedly  support  as  many 
cattle  as  one  head  for  each  thirty  or  thirty-five 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  305 

acres  and  still  be  maintained  in  their  original 
productiveness.  As  a  rule,  any  range  can  be 
brought  back  to  its  original  value  by  merely  giv- 
ing it  rest.  Keeping  stock  off  for  three  years  en- 
ables the  grasses  to  re-seed  and  thicken  up,  and 
will  ordinarily  be  sufficient  to  entirely  reclaim  a 
depleted  range. 

Harrowing  or  re-seeding  the  range  may  be 
practicable  in  some  instances.  Harrowing 
greatly  stimulates  the  growth  of  grass,  conserves 
the  moisture  and  makes  the  plant  food  in  the  soil 
available  to  plants.  We  have  some  drouth-resist- 
ant forage  plants  native  to  the  West,  which  may 
be  increased  to  advantage.  The  salt  sages  more 
especially  are  promising  for  cultivation  on  alka- 
lized soils.  Western  rangemen  have  found  it  very 
profitable  to  destroy  the  prairie-dogs,  which  eat 
large  amounts  of  grasses.  It  is  also  probably 
advisable  to  remove  poisonous  plants  on  certain 
areas. 

NECESSITY  Cattlemen  are  finding  that  it  is  no  longer 

OP   WINTER  .,  T  r^i  i  •  ^i 

PEED  possible  or  profitable  to  raise  cattle  on  western 

ranges  if  grazing  is  the  only  dependence  through 
the  year.  The  percentage  of  increase  in  cattle 
on  these  ranges  is  too  small,  running  from  forty 
to  fifty  per  cent.,  and  under  the  best  average, 
sixty  per  cent,  of  calves  is  considered  an  excel- 
lent rate  of  increase.  Where  cattle  are  better 
cared  for  on  the  ranch  during  the  winter  season 
the  increase  may  reach  eighty  per  cent,  or  better. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  307 

Sheepmen  are  buying  better  stock  and  giving  it 
better  care  by  keeping  on  hand  a  supply  of  hay 
to  feed  during  bad  storms. 

The  management  of  cattle  will  vary  in  dif- 
ferent sections  and  every  man  will  have  his  own 
method  after  years  enough  of  experience. 

The  new  method  of  use  of  the  range  is  to  put 
the  cattle  into  fields  in  JSTovember  when  the 
calves  are  separated  from  the  cows  and  are 
weaned.  The  value  of  food  for  young  stock  is 
nowr  generally  recognized.  A  calf  which  is 
stunted  in  its  early  growth  never  makes  profita- 
ble beef.  These  young  calves,  therefore,  should 
be  fed.  As  soon  as  they  are  \veaned,  they  should 
be  given  alfalfa  hay  and  native  grass  pasture  and 
fed  some  grain  in  addition.  Start  in  with  a 
quarter  or  a  half-pound  of  grain  per  head  and  in- 
crease to  a  pound,  feeding  them  until  the  grass 
is  good  and  they  are  turned  onto  the  range  again 
in  the  spring. 

Home  grains  may  be  used  for  this  feeding, 
but  they  must  be  ground.  Where  mill  feeds  are 
available  mix  a  little  bran,  a  small  amount  of 
corn  chop  and  ground  barley,  spelt,  or  Macaroni 
wheat  together  to  form  the  ration. 

Bulls  are  kept  in  separate  pastures  through 
the  winter  and  should  be  fed.  It  never  pays  to 
use  grade  bulls.  While  it  is  expensive  to  pur- 
chase registered  sires,  they  are  the  only  kind  now 
used  by  up-to-date  ranchmen.  One  bull  is  used 


308  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

to  each  twenty-five  to  forty  cows.  The  bulls  are 
usually  turned  with  the  cows  the  first  week  in 
July  and  let  run  with  them  until  the  last  of  No- 
vember. The  calves  are  mostly  dropped  in  April, 
at  a  time  when  spring  feed  is  getting  good.  In 
some  sections  of  the  West,  where  poison  weed  is 
bad,  the  cattle  are  kept  in  the  fields  and  fed  dur- 
ing April,  until  this  poison  weed  gets  largo 
enough  so  it  is  beyond  being  dangerous.  Cattle 
that  are  turned  onto  the  range  are  usually 
rounded  up  in  July,  when  the  calves  are  branded 
and  the  bull  calves  castrated. 

It  has  become  common  practice  to  turn  or 
sell  the  stock  quite  young.  The  cows  should  not 
be  allowed  to  have  their  first  calves  before  three 
years  of  age.  The  young  stock  is  fed  and  pushed 
and  the  steers  are  turned  usually  as  long  two- 
year-olds.  It  does  not  pay  to  keep  them  longer 
than  this  if  there  is  sufficient  feed  to  make  them 
of  good  size. 

The  cows  should  be  turned  at  eight  or  nine 
years.  In  the  vicinity  of  sugar  beet  factories 
these  old  cows  are  being  fed  beet  tops,  pulp  and 
alfalfa  hay.  Cows  will  often  go  on  producing 
calves  up  to  the  time  they  are  twelve  years  old, 
but  the  best  management  turns  them  young 
enough  so  -when  they  are  fed  they  are  salable, 
and  bring  enough  to  pay  for  fattening. 

The  young  beaves  or  feeders  are  usually  sold 
in  November  or  December. 

It  has  been  common  practice  for  many  years 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  309 

to  cross  cattle  back  and  forth.  By  this  we  mean 
that  a  stockman  will  buy  all  pure-bred  Hereford 
bulls.  These  bulls  will  run  with  the  cows  about 
four  years,  when  they  are  turned  and  a  new  crop 
of  bulls  purchased.  But  the  next  time  he  buys 
full  blood  Short  Horn  bulls.  Such  crossing  pro- 
cures strong,  growing  young  stock,  and  has  gen- 
erally given  most  excellent  satisfaction. 

With  a  reduction  of  the  range  area,  however, 
better  care  and  better  breeding,  many  stockmen 
are  dropping  this  practice  and  breeding  only  one 
kind  of  stock.  Range  cattle  must  have  a  contin- 
ual supply  of  open  water  in  the  winter. 

BANGING  Jn  the  early  days  ranging  horses  was  one  of 

the  most  profitable  kinds  of  stock  business. 
Western  horses  on  the  range  practically  take  care 
of  themselves  the  year  round.  The  only  atten- 
tion they  received  or  expense  they  were  to  the 
ranchman  was  rounding  up  once  a  year  for  pur- 
poses of  branding  and  castrating.  Early  esti- 
mates placed  the  total  expense  of  raising  horses 
old  enough  to  market  at  one  dollar  per  head. 
With  the  breaking  up  of  the  large  range  areas 
and  the  improvement  in  horses,  it  is  probably  no 
longer  advisable  to  attempt  the  raising  of  horses 
on  the  range.  It  will  pay,  however,  to  range  the 
young  stock,  and  the  growing  colts  may  get  their 
food  for  some  time  on  pasture.  As  soon  as  they 
are  old  enough  to  breed,  they  will  require  ranch 
management. 


310  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

BANGING  It  is  not  intended  to  give  a  complete  discus- 

sion of  sheep  ranging.  The  ranging  of  sheep  is 
a  business  in  itself  and  does  not  fit  into  the  farm 
management  of  the  average  settler.  Undoubt- 
edly the  modern  method  of  growing  sheep  in  the 
West  would  be  more  profitable  than  depending 
upon  the  open  range  for  running  large  flocks.  A 
man  who  can  fence  his  fields  to  shut  out  coyotes 
and  develop  a  home  sheep  business  without  run- 
ning large  flocks  and  hiring  a  herder,  would  un- 
doubtedly find  the  business  profitable.  It  would 
be  necessary  to  have  enough  range  adjoining  the 
ranch  to  support  the  sheep  during  the  spring  and 
summer  when  the  fields  were  producing  crops. 
The  man  who  would  buy  a  western  sheep  ranch 
and  range  and  go  into  business  on  a  large  scale 
should  not  do  so  without  some  personal  experi- 
ence or  securing  as  an  associate  in  the  business  a 
man  who  has  learned  how. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


FEEDING 
ANIMALS 
(FOOD) 


USE    OF  A 

RATION 


WESTERN  ANIMAL  FEEDING. 

Do  not  try  to  keep  more  animals  than  you  can  feed 
well.  Signs  of  Spring-time  starvation  are  unsightly  and 
unprofitable.  Poor  animals  do  not  bring  forth  good  off- 
spring:— they  do  poor  work: — they  are  not  good  meat. 

Food  is  the  basis  of  life.  As  we  put  coal 
under  a  boiler  to  produce  heat,  which  may  be 
changed  into  other  forms  of  energy,  as  motion, 
electricity,  or  light,  through  the  agency  of 
steam,  so  we  put  food  into  our  bodies  for  the 
purpose  of  creating  energy  through  the  agency 
of  our  life  force.  Perhaps  we  will  never  know 
just  how  food  is  converted  into  energy  in  the  ani- 
mal body,  but  we  do  know  that  it  is  changed  and 
gives  back  heat,  work  and  energy  in  various 
forms,  and  that  the  surplus  may  be  stored  up  in 
the  body  tissues  for  future  use. 

A  ration  is  a  certain  combination  of  foods, 
given  in  proper  amounts  to  keep  the  animal  and 
produce  some  desired  result.  We  supply  food 
to  farm  animals  for  the  purpose  of  producing 
work,  which  is  manifested  in  all  the  life  pro- 
cesses, and  is  given  back  to  us  in  flesh,  fat,  or 
the  work  of  the  animals  themselves.  It  takes  a 
large  amount  of  energy  to  keep  the  animal  alive 
and  to  perform  its  various  functions.  For  ex- 
ample, it  has  been  determined  that  11  per  cent. 


312  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

of  the  total  energy  contained  in  hay  may  be  used 
up  by  a  horse  in  the  mere  process  of  chewing  the 
hay.  Something  over  2  per  cent,  of  the  energy 
which  may  be  obtained  from  oats  is  used  up  in 
working  the  muscles  which  move  the  jaws  and 
grind  the  grain  so  it  may  be  digested.  Some  of 
this  energy  may  be  saved  to  the  animal  by  chop- 
ping the  hay  and  grinding  the  grain.  Many  of 
our  best  feeders  have  come  to  believe  that  it  is  a 
matter  of  economy  and  profit  to  always  grind  the 
grain  which  is  fed  to  fattening  animals.  It 
takes  a  portion  of  the  energy  obtained  from  food 
to  carry  on  each  of  the  life  processes  in  the  ani- 
mal, as  breathing,  digestion,  working  the  heart, 
thinking,  etc.  The  actual  amount  and  right  pro- 
portion of  food  required  to  carry  on  the  life  pro- 
cesses is  called  a  maintenance  ration,  and  the 
food  eaten  in  addition  to  this  supplies  growth, 
produces  work  or  lays  on  fat. 

FEEDING  AS  Feeding  as  an  art,  or  the  practice  of  supply- 

m&  animals  with  food,  is  as  old  as  the  livestock 
industry,  but  the  science  of  feeding  is  very  new. 
By  science  we  mean  a  knowledge  of  why  and 
how  the  various  foods  give  the  results  they  do 
when  fed  to  various  animals.  ~Not  knowing  why 
certain  foods  gave  certain  results,  our  forefath- 
ers could  not  tell  why  they  made  or  lost  money 
from  feeding  their  animals,  and  consequently 
made  the  same  mistakes  over  and  over  again. 
However,  by  long  experience,  they  did  learn 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  313 

something  about  suitable  foods  for  different  pur- 
poses, and  one  of  the  principal  guides  they  had 
was  the  appetite  of  the  animals  themselves. 

If  a  man  is  working  hard  and  the  weather  is 
very  cold,  he  will  crave  that  kind  of  food  which 
will  supply  the  fat  which  may  be  converted  into 
heat  and  work.  The  Esquimo  lives  on  whale 
blubber  and  other  fat  substances,  even  the  tallow 
candle  being  a  delicacy.  Such  foods  would  very 
quickly  nauseate  a  person  living  in  a  warm 
country.  Therefore,  the  actual  needs  of  the 
body  tell  the  man  who  knows  nothing  about 
science  what  kind  of  food  to  eat.  This  was  easy 
to  apply  to  the  intelligent  thinking  man,  but  dif- 
ficult when  it  came  to  feeding  dumb  brutes. 

The  first  attempt  to  compare  feeding  stuffs 
was  made  nearly  100  years  ago.  One  hundred 
pounds  of  meadow  hay  was  taken  as  a  standard 
of  comparison  and  was  said  to  be  worth  so 
many  pounds  of  other  foods,  as  cabbage,  pota- 
toes, clover  or  grain.  The  trouble  was  that  no 
one  could  agree  on  how  many  pounds  of  any 
food  was  equivalent  to  100  pounds  of  meadow 
hay,  and  everyone  used  different  standards. 

This  crude  beginning  set  people  to  thinking 
and  paved  the  way  for  better  systems  of  deter- 
mining the  values  of  farm  food  stuffs.  Attempts 
to  divide  feeding  stuffs  into  different  classes  of 
compounds  were  not  made  until  about  50  years 
ago,  when  Grouven's  feeding  standard  for  farm 
animals,  based  on  the  protein,  carbo-hydrates 


314 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


and  fats  found  in  food,  was  established.  His 
standard  would  not  hold,  however,  because  he 
did  not  take  into  account  the  ability  of  the  ani- 
mal to  digest  these  different  foods  and  use  them. 
His  work  was  followed,  in  1864,  by  the  Wolfe 
standard,  which  was  based  upon  the  digestible 
amount  of  the  protein,  carbo-hydrates  and  fats 
in  the  different  foods. 


A  COMPAR- 


BALANCED 


It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  science  of 
and  feeding  is  quite  new.  In  fact,  it  is  so 
new  that  undoubtedly  many  modifications  will 
yet  be  made,  and  we  have  only  the  general  laws 
to  follow.  It  requires  an  enormous  amount  of 
work  to  determine  the  different  amounts  of  the 
different  food  elements  in  all  of  the  grains  and 
fodders  which  we  use,  and  they  vary  so  much 
from  time  to  time,  even  in  the  same  kind  of 
grain,  or  fodder,  that  our  balanced  rations  are 
only  approximate  at  the  best.  However, 
they  are  worth  the  most  careful  consideration. 
The  scientific  principle  being  correct,  it  should 
be  applied  as  far  as  possible  and  may  mean  the 
difference  between  failure  and  success. 

A  balanced  ration  is  one  which  contains  the 
right  proportions  of  the  different  food  elements. 
These  proportions  differ  with  different  kinds 
and  conditions  of  animals.  If  a  milk  cow  is 
fed  the  same  ration  that  is  given  to  a  fattening 
steer,  she  will  lay  on  fat,  instead  of  giving  a 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


315 


WHAT  FOODS 
CONTAIN 


MINERAL 


profitable  flow  of  milk.  Young  animals  need  the 
growth-forming  nitrogen  compounds.  Older 
animals  need  more  starch  and  fat.  Following 
out  these  principles  in  even  a  rough,  general  way, 
always  results  in  more  profitable  feeding.  The 
key  to  scientific  feeding  is  the  balanced  ration, 
and  the  more  nearly  balanced  it  can  be  made  the 
better  the  results.  Good  rations  may  be  made 
up  of  different  combinations  of  feeds  and  one 
combination  may  be  much  cheaper  than  another. 
If  in  balance,  the  cheaper  feed  will  give  as  good 
results  to  the  animal  as  one  that  may  be  much 
more  expensive. 

Animal  foods  are  essentially  organic,  i.  e., 
they  are  complex  substances  which  have  been 
built  up  and  compounded  by  some  form  of  plant 
life  or  are  taken  from  animals  which  have  ob- 
tained them  through  plants.  Animals  cannot 
live  on  mineral  matter  alone,  but  some  of  the 
salts,  found  in  the  ash,  when  organic  substances 
are  burned,  are  essential  to  them.  Sometimes 
they  need  more  salt  than  they  obtain  from  their 
natural  food  and  it  pays  to  supply  common  salt 
to  all  farm  animals,  or  wood  ashes  and  coal  dust 
to  fattening  pigs.  While  the  composition  of  or- 
ganic substances  is  very  complex,  the  food  com- 
pounds may  be  grouped  in  the  following  four 
classes: 

While  mineral  salts  are  necessary  to  supply 
the  inorganic  substances  found  in  the  bones  and 


316 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


PROTEIN 


CARBO- 
HYDRATES 
AND  PATS 


other  tissues,  and  in  the  secretions  of  the  animal, 
they  are  everywhere  abundant,  and  outside  of  an 
extra  supply  of  common  salt  no  attention  need  be 
given  them  in  compounding  a  balanced  ration. 

Those  organic  compounds,  which  contain  ni- 
trogen, are  classed  as  protein.  The  principal 
forms  of  protein  are  albumen,  represented  by 
the  white  of  eggs ;  gluten,  the  gummy  substances 
of  wheat  and  other  grains,  and  casein,  repre- 
sented by  the  curd  of  milk.  These  nitrogen  com- 
pounds are  called  albuminoids.  There  are  a 
large  number  of  albuminoids  known  as  amides. 
They  differ  from  proteids  in  being  soluble  in 
water  and  are  not  coagulated  with  heat.  They 
are  abundant  in  the  green  parts  of  plants.  Good 
examples  are  asparagin,  abundant  in  asparagus, 
and  the  soluble  part  of  meat  which  forms  the 
principal  part  of  beef  tea.  The  nutritive  value 
of  the  amide  compounds  is  not  well  known, 
though  they  are  probably  much  less  valuable  than 
the  proteids. 

The  carbo-hydrates  and  fat  are  compounds 
of  carbon  with  hydrogen  and  oxygen.  Starch 
and  sugar  and  crude  fibre  or  cellulose  are  carbo- 
hydrates. The  fats  are  like  the  carbo-hydrates 
in  being  formed  of  the  same  elements,  but  they 
contain  a  larger  proportion  of  carbon  and  their 
heating  value  is  about  two  and  one-fourth  times 
as  much  as  the  sugars  and  starches,  so  they  are 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


317 


treated  as  a  separate  class  in  compounding  a  food 
ration.  The  fats  are  dissolved  by  the  chemist 
with  ether,  which  also  dissolves  some  other  sub- 
stances, so  they  are  put  together  in  our  tables 
under  the  name  of  ether  extract. 


HOW  THE  Jn  general  the  nitrogen  substances  are  used 

FOODS   ABE  .  ,  ,  , 

USED  m  processes  of  growth,  to  lay  on  muscle  or  in- 

crease in  size,  so  larger  amounts  of  them  are 
used  in  rations  for  young,  growing  animals,  or 
for  breeding  animals,  or  cows  giving  large 
amounts  of  milk  which  is  rich  in  nitrogen.  The 
carbo-hydrates  produce  energy,  as  work  and  heat, 
and  the  fats  both  help  to  lay  on  fat  and  produce 
heat.  But  the  complete  function  of  the  classes 
of  food  can  by  no  means  be  so  simply  stated. 

Many  have  the  idea  that  a  fattening  ration 
should  be  especially  rich  in  fat,  but  that  does  not 
follow.  It  is  known  that  the  animal  body  may 
break  down  and  change  the  compounds,  even  con- 
verting one  into  the  other.  Protein  may  yield 
fat  and  heat,  or  the  carbo-hydrates  may  be,  and 
are  largely,  used  to  store  up  fat  in  the  body.  The 
feeder  needs  to  supply  his  animals  with  each 
kind  of  food  in  the  proportion  best  adapted  to 
the  kind  of  animal  for  the  kind  of  results  sought. 

DETERMINED  Xhe  amount  of  different  foods  given  to  ani- 

BY   EXPERT-  ,  T   .    i  T          ,.          L     -i  i  i    •        1    .L 

MEITT  mals  which  may  be  digested  and  used  is  deter- 

mined by  experiment,  and  we  have  only  these 
actual  feeding  trials,  along  with  the  analyses  of 


318  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

the  different  foods,  to  guide  us  in  computing  a 
balanced  ration,  and  determining  what  is  best  to 
feed  under  the  circumstances.  These  standards 
of  feeding  are  highly  valuable,  often  enabling 
the  farmer  to  save  large  sums  by  supplying  his 
animals  the  correct  combination  of  foods  from 
the  cheaper  feeds  on  the  market,  and  to  reach  the 
best  results -from  his  feeding  in  the  shortest  time, 

THE  RATION  Western  stock  foods  are  as  different    from 

those  of  the  East  as  are  our  other  conditions. 
This  means  that  recommendations  made  for 
humid  Eastern  States  are  not  suitable  for  the 
solution  of  our  own  feeding  problems.  In  the 
West  our  fodders  and  grains  are  unusally  rich 

O  tJ 

in  the  nitrogen  compounds,  which  we  call  pro- 
tein. It  is  difficult  to  get  enough  of  the  fat- 
forming  elements  in  our  food  combinations. 
Protein  does  not  entirely  take  the  place  of  car- 
bo-hydrates and  fat.  This  substance  has  been 
the  basis  upon  which  rations  were  built  because 
it  is  scarce  and  expensive  in  most  parts  of  the 
world.  It  seems  to  be  true  that  animals  fed  a 
ration  which  is  rich  in  protein  make  better 
growth  when  young  than  those  which  do  not  re- 
ceive this  growth-producing  material ;  but  older 
animals  do  not  lay  on  the  fat  or  make  the  gains 
they  should  if  the  ration  is  too  rich  in  protein. 
The  problem  in  Europe  and  in  the  East  is  to  get 
enough  protein;  the  problem  in  the  West  is  to 
get  enough  carbo-hydrates. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  319 

TO  WIDEN  Since  the  establishment  of  the  sugar-beet  f  ac- 

tories,  we  have  a  feeding  material  which  may  be 
used  in  place  of  corn  to  widen  the  ration.  This 
is  the  waste  molasses  from  these  factories.  It 
contains  a  little  nitrogenous  material,  but  is,  per- 
haps, two-thirds  sugar,  and  the  sugar  is  practi- 
cally all  digestible.  It  is  usually  fed  by  mixing 
with  ground  alfalfa  or  pea  hay,  straw  or  other 
roughage,  and  where  it  can  be  obtained  it  solves 
the  ration  problem  for  our  farmers. 

Other  ways  of  widening  rations  is  to  mix  al- 
falfa which  is  rich  in  protein  with  other  grasses, 
grain  or  straw.  Wilcox  recommends  the  "straw 
sandwich."  This  is  feed  composed  of  a  layer  of 
alfalfa  and  a  layer  of  straw  stacked  together. 
Timothy,  Brome  grass,  orchard  grass  or  wheat 
grass  are  often  planted  with  alfalfa  and  the  mix- 
ture helps  widen  the  ration,  i.  e.,  makes  a  larger 
proportion  of  carbo-hydrates  to  protein. 

The  principal  way  the  feeder  widens  his  ra- 
tions is  by  the  use  of  corn.  Other  grains  useful 
for  this  purpose  are  either  the  sweet  or  non-sac- 
charine sorghum  seeds. 

It  has  been  found  that  our  western  foods  are 
very  different  in  their  chemical  composition  and 
digestibility  from  like  feeds  raised  in  the  East. 
While  the  eastern  analyses  and  tables  serve 
a  useful  purpose  as  general  indications  of  what 
and  how  much  we  should  feed,  they  are  faulty, 
and  we  must  needs  build  up  a  science  of  arid  re- 
gion stock-feeding  just  as  we  must  discover  our 


320  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

own  scientific  principles  for  other  branches  of 
farming.  Some  of  the  stations  are  doing  much 
of  this  kind  of  work  and  are  already  making  val- 
u able  discoveries. 

VALUE  or  Wheat  and  corn  have  been  found  of  prac- 

BATION^OB  tically  equal  value  as  stock  food,  but  greater  care 
DAIRY  cows  must  be  used  in  feeding  wheat,  as  it  is  more  apt 
to  injure  stock  not  accustomed  to  it  It  is  a  safe 
plan  to  mix  wheat  with  some  other  food,  as 
ground  barley  or  oats,  or  the  ground  grain  may 
be  mixed  with  chopped  hay.  Some  feeders  suc- 
cessfully use  wheat  alone,  but  they  are  careful  to 
feed  small  amounts  at  first,  gradually  increasing 
the  feed  until  the  animals  take  the  full  ration. 

Malt  sprouts  is  a  valuable  food,  rich  in  nitro- 
gen, but  not  very  palatable  to  stock,  so  cows  usu- 
ally cannot  be  made  to  eat  more  than  two  pounds 
per  day  in  connection  with  other  feed.  Malt 
sprouts  should  be  soaked  before  feeding. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  may  be  clone  by 
the  farmer  in  saving  money- on  feed,  by  giving 
some  attention  to  the  computation  of  rations 
from  cheaper  foods,  we  publish  the  following 
five  rations,  comparing  each  with  the  standard 
as  worked  out  for  a  1,000  pound  dairy  cow  giv- 
ing 22  pounds  of  milk  per  day.  This  compari- 
son is  based  upon  the  principle  that  the  kind  of 
feed  is  not  of  so  great  importance  as  a  combina- 
tion of  foods  which  gives  a  well-balanced  ration. 
The  five  rations,  then,  are  considered  approxi- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  321 

mately  equal  in  their  nutritive  effect  on  the  cow. 
There  is  a  great  difference  in  cows  and  if  they 
will  consume  more  hay  in  addition  to  the  grain 
than  that  given  in  the  ration,  we  would  supply 
what  will  he  cleaned  up: 

MAIIKKT  PRICE  OF  FEEDS  USED  IX  THE  FOLLOW- 
ING RATIONS. 

Alfalfa  Hay,  per  ton $  4.00 

Corn  Fodder,  per  ton 4.00 

Sugar  Beets,  at  home,  per  ton 4.00 

Malt  Sprouts,  per  ton 10.00 

Wheat  Bran   (Spring  Wheat),  per  ton 14.00 

Corn  Chop,  per  100  Ibs.  $1.25 :  per  ton 25.00 


j  1 


322 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


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ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


323 


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324  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

Comparing  the  results  given  in  the  tables,  we 
find  that  ration  No.  1  makes  the  cost  of  the  food 
for  one  cow  for  a  period  of  10  months  feeding, 
$46.50.  Ration  No.  2,  costing  1%  csnts  per 
day  less,  makes  the  feed  per  cow  for  10  months 
cost  $41.25.  If  25  cows  are  being  fed,  this 
would  result  in  a  net  saving  to  the  farmer  of 
$131.25  over  Ration  No.  1.  Ration  No.  3  costs 
3!/o  cents  less  than  No.  1,  making  the  cost  for  10 
months  $36.00,  or  a  net  saving  over  Ration  Xo. 
1  on  25  cows  of  $262.50.  Ration  No.  4  costs 
the  same  as  No.  3,  and  would  result  in  the  same 
amount  of  increased  bank  account.  Ration  No. 
5  costs  4  cents  per  day  less  than  No.  1,  and  the 
saving  on  25  cows  would  be  $300  more  than 
Avhere  No.  1  is  fed.  It  is  readily  seen  that  the 
difference  in  the  cost  of  food  may  result  in  a 
profit  or  loss  to  the  dairyman.  Not  only  is  it 
perfectly  feasible  to  vary  the  rations  in  some 
such  manner  as  that  indicated,  but  it  is  a  duty 
every  feeder  owes  to  himself.  He  may  often 
take  a  profitable  advantage  of  the  local  fluctua- 
tions in  price.  The  farmer  who  has  raised  corn 
should  sell  it  and  buy  wheat  bran,  if  the  prices 
make  bran  the  cheaper  feed. 


A  suo-  It  seems  that  there  is  good  opportunity  for 

SUMMER  FOB    western  farmers  to  take  advantage  of  the  high 
FEEDING  prices  of  grain-fed  beef  in  the  early  fall.     In- 

variably, there  is  a  spread  of  two  to  two  and  one- 
half  cents  between  prices  of  grass-fed  stuff  and 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


325 


CHANGE 
GRASS-FED 
TO  GRAIN- 
FED 


FEEDS  TO 
BE  USED 


corn-fed  in  October  and  early  November.  Cattle 
from  some  mountain  ranges,  like  those  of  North 
Park,  Colorado,  are  of  such  quality  that  they  go 
as  grain-fed  and  their  beef  is  sold  as  corn-fed 
beef.  It  is  not  easy  to  produce  corn-fattened 
beef  in  the  hot  sultry  weather  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  or  the  eastern  states  in  late  summer. 

With  our  high  altitudes  and  dry,  nippy  air, 
even  in  summer,  where  shade  is  provided,  and 
by  the  use  of  some  of  our  less  heating,  fattening 
grains,  the  farmer  would  be  able  to  take  range 
feeders  and  reclassify  them  in  from  three  to  four 
months  by  grain  feeding. 

It  would  be  convenient  to  get  feeder  steers  at 
the  time  of  the  July  roundups  when  rangemen 
brand  their  calves,  and  may  be  induced  to  sell 
their  best-conditioned  grass-fed  beaves.  Cattle 
are  usually  in  good  grass  condition  at  this  time 
and  they  could  be  put  on  a  western  grain  ration 
by  the  middle  of  July  or  first  of  August.  A 
short  feeding  period  would  be  sufficient  to  make 
them  grain  fed.  If  young  steers  or  baby  beef 
are  fed  they  could  use  a  comparatively  narrow 
ration. 

The  first  crop  of  alfalfa  is  usually  in  the 
stack  as  early  as  the  first  of  July.  At  our  lower 
altitudes  Canada  field  peas,  which  are  planted 
early,  may  be  ripened  and  harvested  by  the  first 


326  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

week  in  July.  This  will  depend  on  the  amount 
of  moisture,  but  where  dry,  they  ripen  early. 
Spring-sown  small  grains  would  not  he  available 
unless  carried  over  from  the  previous  season. 
Our  winter  feed  grains,  however,  could  be  har- 
vested in  time  to  do  the  work.  Winter  wheat 
might  be  used  in  small  amounts,  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  feed  wheat,  especially  in  the  summer. 
The  AVinter  Emmer  (Spelt)  can  be  harvested 
in  time.  This  is  a  new  grain,  the  seed  of  which 
is  being  increased  and  developed  in  northern 
Wyoming. 

PROTECT  Flies   worry   cattle   in   the   summer   and   it 

might  be  impossible  to  make  stock  fat  in  fly  time 
if  we  were  unable  to  meet  the  difficulty.  ^o 
matter  where  we  learned  the  trick,  but  we  have 
good  authority,  that  a  certain  company  in  the 
far  south,  where  ordinarily  the  cattle  are  kept 
skin  poor,  are  turning  fat  cattle  into  market  off 
the  same  feed,  and  they  keep  the  method  a  secret 
from  neighbors  and  would-be  competitors.  The 
cattle  are  protected  from  flies  and  this  protection 
alone  has  brought  success  to  the  cattle-feeding 
industry.  The  process  is  simple  and  cheap.  It 
consists  of  spraying  or  putting  on  with  a  white- 
wash brush  a  solution  of  Chloro-Xaptholeum  as 
often  as  may  be  necessary.  Zenoleum  or  other 
coal  tar  products  would  probably  serve  the  same 
purpose.  Flies  don't  like  it. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


327 


BALANCED  From  the  best  analyses  we  can  obtain,    the 

GRAIN  following;  grain  ration  has  been  worked  out.     It 

RATION  FOR 

SUMMER  is  given  as  a  suggestion  to  men  who  desire  to  try 

FEEDING  fitting  top-priced  stuff  for  the  fall  market : 

20  Ibs.  mixed  alfalfa  hay  and  beardless  barley, 
or  as  much  as  the  cattle  will  eat  in  addition 
to  their  grain. 
3  Ibs.  spelt  or  emmer. 
2  Ibs.  field  peas  (should  be  ground). 
-I-  Ibs.  beet  molasx-. 

This  is  the  amount  of  feed  per  day  for  each 
1,000-pound  steer. 

If  beardless  barley  is  not  available  to  mix 
with  the  alfalfa  hay,  use  oat  hay,  or  timothy  or 
straw.  Alfalfa  and  timothy  or  brome-grass  hay 
grown  in  mixture  would  be  good.  Our  rations 
are  too  narrow  for  good  fattening,  unless  we  use 
some  combination  like  the  one  suggested.  Using 
beet  molasses  and  mixtures  of  grass  or  straw 
with  alfalfa  hay  seems  the  only  solution  of  the 
problem  where  corn  is  left  out. 

At  some  of  our  higher  altitudes  in  Wyoming 
and  Colorado  and  farther  north  in  Montana 
ranchmen  have  practiced  hay  fattening  of 
cattle  for  years.  This  is  possible  because 
of  the  rich  and  peculiar  composition  of  the 
native  hay  grown  in  these  localities.  The 
higher  the  altitude  at  which  a  forage  grows  the 
richer  it  seems  to  be  in  protein.  Some  of  these 


328  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

hays  from  irrigated  meadows  are  made  up 
largely  of  rushes,  others  are  principally  wheat 
grasses,  and  all  of  them  contain  a  variety  of 
plants  which  gives  a  mixture  of  forage  liked  by 
stock.  Analyses  and  digestion  experiments  have 
shown  these  hays  to  be  quite  digestible  and  to 
contain  enough  protein  so  the  ration  is  not  so 
wide  as  it  would  be  from  most  hay-feeding  with 
grass  hay.  The  ration  in  Wyoming  seems  to  be 
about  1  part  of  protein  to  9  parts  of  digestible 
carbo-hydrates,  fat  and  crude  fibre.  The  stand- 
ard ratio  for  a  fattening  steer  in  the  finishing- 
period  is  1  part  protein  to  6.2  of  other  food  ele- 
ments. Where  hay-fattening  is  practiced  the 
feeders  are  usually  brought  from  the  range  in 
October  or  November.  They  are  put  on  the 
meadows  upon  which  the  hay  is  stacked  and  the 
stacks  fenced  to  keep  the  cattle  away.  They  are 
fed  in  these  fields  for  a  period  of  five  or  six 
months  and  given  all  or  a  little  more  hay  each 
day  than  they  will  clean  up.  These  hay-fattened 
animals  bring  top  prices  in  the  markets  and  are 
sold  over  the  block  to  the  consumer  as  corn-fed 
beef. 

So  well  have  hay  feeders  done  with  their 
stock  that  they  are  inclined  to  let  good  enough 
alone.  However,  there  is  no  doubt  that  better 
gains  could  be  made  by  using  some  barley  or 
barley  and  flax  seed  to  narrow  the  ration  a  little 
and  give  a  small  amount  of  richer  concentrate 
in  connection  with  the  hay.  Some  ranchmen 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  329 

arc  now  "rowing  black  barley  or  hulless  barley 
at  altitudes  of  over  8,000  feet  to  increase  the 
efficiency  of  their  winter  feed. 

Pasture  fattening  is  letting  the  animals  feed 
in  the  field  and  do  their  own  harvesting.      The 
dry,  open  falls  and  winters,  with  little  snow, 
makes  such   feeding  possible.     The  feeding  is 
often  done  on  a  large  scale  by  simply  herding  the 
lambs  in  the  pea  fields.       This  is  a  somewhat 
wasteful  method,  as  the  animals  run  over,  tramp 
down  and  shell  out  much  of  the  peas,  so  they  get 
the  poorest  feed  at  the  finishing  period  when 
they  should  have  the  finest  and  best.     The  use 
of  division  fences  or  hurdles  gives  better  results. 
An  acre  of  peas  will  fatten  from  eight  to  twelve 
lambs.      They  are  turned  on  the  peas  the  latter 
part  of  October  or  first  of  November  and  fed 
from  two  and  one-half  to  four  months.     At  first 
they  are  run  on  the  peas  a  few  hours  and  then 
taken  off.      This  is  repeated  a  few  days  until  the 
lambs  become  used  to  the  feed  so  they  will  not 
eat  so  much  as  to  cause  bloat.     After  that  they 
are  allowed  to  remain  and  eat  the  peas  at  will. 
Pea-fed  lambs  are  most  excellent  quality  meat 
and  bring  good  prices.     While  they  do  not  aver- 
age quite  so  high  in  the  market  as  corn  and  alfal- 
fa-fed lambs,  they  are  in  good  demand  and  the 
cheapness  with  which  the  fattening  is  done  often 
makes  such  feeding  highly  profitable.     The  best 
farmers  usually  allow  hogs  to  pasture  after  the 


330  AEID    AGRICULTURE. 

lambs  to  use  the  shelled  peas  which  are  left  on 
the  ground.  Pasture-feeding  peas  is  one  of  the 
best  methods  of  improving  the  fertility  of  the 
soil. 

There  are  other  forms  of  pasture  fattening 
and  combinations  of  pasturing  and  feeding  that 
are  useful  in  the  West.  The  pasturing  of  root 
crops,  mustard,  kohlrabi  and  rape  for  sheep  and 
swine,  and  of  artichokes  by  swine  or  of  alfalfa 
by  pigs  on  feed,  or  of  beet  tops  by  cattle  or  sheep, 
which  are  being  fattened  with  grain,  is  profitable 
and  important.  With  all  these  pasture  crops  it 
is  important  not  to  let  stock  gorge  themselves  at 
first  by  giving  them  too  much  when  hungry,  as 
all  will  cause  loss  from  bloat.  Sugar  beets  or 
tops  must  be  fed  carefully  to  cows  in  milk  as 
they  have  a  tendency,  when  fed  in  excess,  to  dry 
up  the  milk  flow  and  sometimes  they  cause  indi- 
gestion or  paralysis.  Measured  by  results,  beet 
tops  have  a  high  feeding  value  in  the  first  period 
of  fattening,  and  feeding  them  results  in  much 
saving  of  hay  and  grain. 


BY-PRODUCTS  There  are  two  important  feeding  products  to 
PACT^OBJES  k®  obtained  from  beet-sugar  factories.  One  is 
beet  molasses,  which  is  becoming  a  much-sought 
stock  food  to  mix  with  ground  alfalfa  or  other 
roughage,  or  is  fed  in  combination  with  other 
feeds.  This  seems  to  be  an  important  substance 
to  help  balance  up  western  rations.  Another  by- 
product is  the  beet  pulp.  This  is  a  succulent 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


331 


feed  of  low  nutritive  value,  but  when  fed  with 
alfalfa  or  with  alfalfa  and  grain,  it  has  proven 
generally  profitable  where  it  can  be  laid  down  at 
one  dollar  or  less  per  ton. 

Many  old  cows,  sheep,  and  lambs  are  sent  to 
market  after  being  fattened  on  beet  pulp  and 
alfalfa  alone.  Such  animals  are  soft  and 
shrink  heavily  in  shipping,  but  the  cost  of  the 
feed  is  so  low  that  they  sometimes  return  a  larger 
profit  than  better  meat  that  has  been  grain  fed. 


Plate  XLIX.      Lambs 


Feeding  Pens. 


on 


In  some  experiments  by  the  writer,  lambs  fed 
beet  pulp  and  alfalfa  showed  a  profit  of 
$3.40,  while  those  fed  grain  in  addition  to  the 
pulp  and  alfalfa  gave  a  profit  of  $2.17,  and  those 
fed  sugar  beets,  grain  and  alfalfa  gave  a  profit 
of  $2.23. 


WESTERN 

GRAINS 


The  feeding  value  of  spelt  is  given  in  the 
chapter  on  grains.  Many  feeders  have  an  idea 
they  must  have  corn  for  any  stock  fattening,  and 


332  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

often   they   feed   corn   and    alfalfa   when   corn 
costs  $1.30  or  more  per  hundred  pounds,    and 
wheat  or  barley  could  be  obtained  for  consider- 
ably  less.     Some    Colorado   experiments    show 
that  when  lambs  were  finished  on  wheat  this 
COMPARA-         grain  gave  a  value  15  per  cent,  greater  than  corn, 
TIVE  VALUES    an(j  average  results  show  that  wheat  is  equal  to 

OP   FEEDS  ° 

or  a  little  better  than  corn,  pound  for  pound. 
Barley  is  worth  a  little  less  than  wheat  in  gen- 
eral feeding  value,  but  it  is  easier  to  feed  and 
often  the  difference  in  price  makes  barley  the 
most  profitable  grain  to  use.  Oats,  spelt,  or 
barley  are,  undoubtedly,  better  grains  to  feed  to 
breeding  stock  than  corn.  The  western  farmer 
should  get  away  from  some  of  his  old  ideas  and 
take  hold  of  a  few  new  ones.  Undoubtedly  corn 
is  one  of  the  best  feed  grains  in  the  world  and 
corn  fodder  seems  to  be  more  valuable  than  al- 
most any  other  roughage  of  that  nature.  Al- 
falfa hay  is  worth  from  two  to  three  times  as 
much  as  corn  fodder.  The  following  table  of 
comparative  food  values,  furnished  by  Dr.  B.  F. 
Kaupp,  is  of  considerable  interest : 

ROUGHNESS. 

Value  a  ton  when  alfalfa  is  worth  $1.00  a  ton. 

Total 

DRY  ROUGHAGE.  Nutrients 

Alfalfa $1.00 

Corn  fodder    32 

Cow  peas .97 

Fodder  corn 40 

Millet 64 

Oat  hay 59 

Oat  straw  .  .33 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  333 

Total 
Nutrients 

Orchard  grass    $  .60 

Prairie  hay 51 

Red  clover 70 

Sorghum    43 

Soy  beans 98 

Mixed  hay 67 

Timothy    47 

Wheat  straw   25 

Pea  vine   93 

GREEN  ROUGHAGE. 

Alfalfa $  .34 

Corn  Silage 13 

Fodder  corn 14 

Pasture  grasses 23 

Sorghum  fodder 12 

Soy  beans   28 

ROOTS  AND  TUBERS. 

Mangels  $  .10 

Sugar  beets    14 

Turnips 11 

GRAIXS  AND  BY-PRODUCTS. 

Value  a  100  Ibs.  when  corn  is  worth  lOc  a  100  Ibs. 

Total 

CONCENTRATE  FEEDS.  Nutrients 

Barley    $  .10 

Broom  corn  seed 08 

Corn 10 

Corn  and  cob  meal 07 

Cow  peas 15 

Cotton  seed  hulls 02 

Cotton  seed  meal 28 

Flaxseed    18 

Chicago  gluten  meal 21 

Kaffir  corn  seed 09 

Linseed  meal 22 

Millet  seed 09 

Oats 09 

Rye 11 

Sorghum  seed 08 

Soy  bean  meal 25 

Wheat    11 

Wheat  bran    10 

Wheat  middlings 12 

Wheat  shorts  .  .11 


ALFALFA 
FOB 


334  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

AfiTir  T°tal 

Nutrients 

Whole  milk    <j>    03 

Skim  milk 02 

whay ; ;;;;;; ;.'.';;;;;;    ;0os 

Buttermilk    03 

This  table  is  not  of  much  importance  for  the 
West,  further  than  to  serve  as  a  rough  indication 
of  comparative  values.  As  it  is  the  table  means, 
that  if  your  alfalfa  hay  is  worth  ten  dollars  per 
ton  the  food  in  your  timothy  would  be  worth 
$4.70.  If  your  corn  costs  $1.00  per  hundred, 
your  barley  would  be  worth  $1.00;  your  wheat, 
from  its  food  contents,  $1.10,  and  your  sorghum 
seed  80  cents  per  hundred  pounds.  Such  com- 
parison may  serve  as  a  general  guide  in  buying 
or  selecting  feeds  which  are  cheapest  and  will 
give  most  profit  from  their  use. 

Many  still  entertain  the  opinion  that  alfalfa 
does  not  make  good  horse  hay.  They  think  it 
effects  the  kidneys  badly.  The  trouble  is  more 
apparent  than  real.  Alfalfa  hay  contains  con- 
siderable moisture  and  the  water  is  passed  off 
by  the  kidneys  or  stores  up  in  the  tissue,  mak- 
ing an  animal  sweat,  if  it  has  been  fed  for  some 
time  without  being  worked  or  exercised.  At  the 
same  time,  the  color  of  the  hay  causes  stains  in 
the  stall,  making  it  appear  that  the  secretion  is 
unusually  great.  Alfalfa  hay  does  sometime? 
cause  trouble  when  fed  to  horses  which  are  not 
used  to  it,  but  the  trouble  is  usually  indigestion, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  335 

flue  to  the  way  it  is  fed,  rather  than  to  any  bad 
qualities  in  the  hay.  Alfalfa  has  over  twice 
as  much  nutriment  in  it  as  the  best  timo- 
thy, and  is  so  rich  and  palatable  that  horses  may 
founder  themselves  or  have  their  digestion  disar- 
ra Hired,  and  be  affected  with  kidney  or  other  trou- 
bles if  fed  all  they  will  eat  of  it  when  not  accus- 
tomed to  such  feed.  The  same  thing  occurs 
when  a  hungry  horse  gets  loose  in  a  corn-crib  or 
an  oat-bin.  Indigestion  is  often  mistaken  for 
kidney  trouble. 

When  properly  used,  alfalfa  is  good  ha\ 
oven  for  work  horses,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  there 
i>  any  other  hay  equal  to  it  for  colts.  Thousands 
i'f  work  horses  on  farms  in  the  West  get  no  other 
kind  of  hay,  and  they  live  as  long  and  do  as 
much  hard  work  as  farm  horses  anywhere.  The 
tirsr  cutting  makes  the  best  horse  hay,  and  they 
do  better  on  it  if  it  is  allowed  to  get  pretty  ripe. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


STOCK  BBEEDING  SUGGESTIONS. 

Reproduction   is    the   basis    of   the    creation    of   new 
wealth. 

POINTERS  ON  \ye  make  no  attempt  to  discuss  the  princi- 

BREEDING  1  £         .         -.  ,  ,.  „„  , 

pies  of  animal  breeding,  Ihere  are  a  lew  points 
useful  to  the  farmer  who  is  raising  any  kind  of 
live  stock.  He  should  grow  the  kind  of  stock 
suitable  to  his  farm.  If  he  has  range  he  should 
make  use  of  it.  In  the  arid  region  the  foods  are 
rich  in  the  growth-forming  materials  and  arc 
especially  suitable  to  the  feeding  of  young  stock. 
The  bacon  hog,  in  which  the  object  is  to  make 
meat  instead  of  lard,  is  especially  suited  to  the 
alfalfa  districts.  The  farmer  should  always  use 
pure-bred  sires.  Grades  do  not  pay.  It  often 
pays  to  make  a  first  cross  for  feeders,  but  the 
crossed  animals  should  not  be  used  as  sires,  even 
though  they  appear  to  be  good  stock,  for  the  off- 
spring of  grade  sires  is  uncertain  and  deterior- 
ates. For  various  causes  some  animals  will  be 
non-breeders  or  sterile.  Unless  the  animal  is  a 
valuable  one,  so  it  will  pay  to  consult  a  veterin- 
arian, as  soon  as  proven  to  be  a  non-breeder  it 
should  be  fattened  and  sold.  Contagious  abor- 
tion sometimes  interferes  with  the  breeding. 
"Where  this  occurs  the  disease  should  be  cleaned 


338  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

up  by  the  advice  of  a  doctor,  or  the  diseased  ani- 
mals disposed  of. 


PUBERTY,  The  age  of  puberty,  or  the  time  a  young  ani- 

GES^TATION  ma^  w^  breed,  varies  greatly  in  different  ani- 
mals of  the  same  kind.  The  periods  of  breeding 
are  also  variable,  but  the  gestation  is  more  uni- 
.  form.  It  seems  that  highly  bred  animals  that 
mature  at  younger  ages,  have  shorter  gestation 
periods  than  the  less  refined  breeds.  This  infor- 
mation is  scattered  and  usually  hard  to  find,  but 
it  is  so  useful  to  every  farmer  who  deals  with  any 
kind  of  live  stock  that  such  of  it  as  is  available 
and  reliable  is  here  brought  together  in  con- 
densed form. 

THE  HORSE  Puberty  in  the  mare  occurs  at  from  eighteen 

months  to  two  years  of  age,  but  the  mare  should 
not  be  allowed  to  have  her  first  colt  younger  than 
three  years.  Animals  indicate  when  they  arc 
ready  to  breed  by  periods  of  heat  or  rutting 
(oestrum).  The  mare  comes  into  heat  every 
twenty-one  or  twenty-two  days,  though  it  varies 
from  one  to  three  weeks,  and  some  mares  are  ap- 
parently in  heat  at  all  times,  while  others  never 
come  into  heat  at  all.  Heat  does  not  usually  oc- 
cur while  animals  are  pregnant,  though  this  is 
not  always  true.  The  mare  usually  stays  in 
heat  about  three  days.  The  gestation  period  of 
the  mare  (the  time  she  carries  the  foal)  varies 
from  ten  months  to  twelve  months,  the  average 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  339 

time  being  330  day-.  A  mare  will  raise  colts 
until  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  age. 

THE  cow  Puberty  in    the  cow    occurs    at    from    nine 

months  old  to  two  years  old.  Dairy  breeds  may 
be  bred  very  young,  but  beef  cattle  should  no't 
he  allowed  to  have  calves  before  two  and  one- 
half  years  old.  Cows  usually  come  in  heat 
every  twenty -one  clays,  and  the  periods  of  heat 
last  from  one  to  four  days,  the  average  being 
about  thirty-six  hours.  The  gestation  period  of 
the  cow  is  nine  months,  the  average  length  of 
time  being  183  days.  Heifer  calves  usually  drop 
in  182  days,  and  bull  calves  take  one  or  two  days 
longer.  Young  heifers  with  first  calf,  and  small 
cows  often  go  a  day  or  two  less. 

SHEEP  AND  The  lamb  sometimes  reaches  puberty  as  early 

GOATS  as  f[ve  months  of  age.     With    most   breeds    of 

sheep  the  heat  or  rutting  season  only  comes  in 
the  fall  months.  It  usually  begins  about  the 
middle  of  September,  lasts  about  twenty-four 
hours,  and  recurs  every  fourteen  to  sixteen  days 
until  the  end  of  December.  Some  breeds,  like 
the  Dorsett,  may  be  made  to  breed  at  other  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  This  is  much  influenced  by 
the  character  of  feed  and  treatment.  The  pe- 
riod of  gestation  in  the  sheep  and  the  goat  is  five 
months,  the  average  time  being  148  or  149  days. 
The  Rambouillet  carries  its  lambs  one  or  two 
days  less  time  than  the  American  Merino,  and 


340 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


SWINE 


OTHER 
ANIMALS 


CARE    OF 
MOTHERS 


the  coarse-wooled  breeds  have  gestation  periods 
three  or  four  days  shorter  than  fine-wool  sheep. 

The  sow  reaches  puberty  at  about  six  months, 
but  brood  sows  should  not  be  bred  as  young  as 
this.  Sows  come  into  heat  in  periods  of  from 
one  to  three  weeks  and  stay  about  one  day.  They 
do  not  come  into  heat  while  nursing  their  pigs, 
and  if  it  is  desired  to  get  a  quick  second  litter, 
the  sow  should  be  bred  the  day  after  farrowing, 
or  the  pigs  should  be  weaned  early.  Some  breeds 
may  produce  two  litters  of  pigs  a  year,  and  while 
breeding  so  often  is  not  unusual,  some  good 
breeders  prefer  only  one  litter  each  year.  The 
gestation  period  of  the  sow  is  four  months,  aver- 
aging 119  or  120  days. 

The  bitch  comes  into  heat  once  in  six  months, 
usually  in  the  Spring  and  autumn,  and  the  rut- 
ting period  lasts  from  eight  to  fifteen  days.  The 
gestation  period  in  dogs  is  from  two  months  to 
nine  weeks,  the  average  varying  from  fifty-six 
to  sixty-five  days. 

The  gestation  period  in  the  cat  is  about  two 
months  or  fifty-five  days.  In  the  rabbit  it  is 
twenty-eight  days,  and  in  the  guinea  pig  thirty- 
two  days. 

One  of  the  secrets  of  good  and  profitable  off- 
spring is  an  abundant  natural  food  supply.  The 
best  mothers  supply  the  largest  quantity  of  milk. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  341 

Sometimes  milking  quality  is  an  inherited  char- 
acter in  the  breed,  but  it  may  often  be  aided  and 
improved  by  proper  feed  and  care.  Animals 
carrying  young  should  be  fed  nitrogenous  and 
succulent  feed.  Where  mill  feeds  can  be  ob- 
tained bran  and  shorts  are  usually  recommended. 
Good  grains  to  feed  bearing  ewes  or  cows  are 
barley  or  spelt.  Oats  are  a  most  excellent  feed 
for  breeding  horses,  cows,  sheep,  or  swine.  Some 
swine  breeders  use  oats  very  freely  to  feed  their 
brood  sows.  Succulent  roots  are  good.  Care 
must  be  taken  not  to  feed  too  heavily  of  sugar 
beets  to  cows  in  calf,  as  it  may  cause  paralysis 
and  abortion,  and  over-feeding  with  beets  tends 
to  dry  up  the  milk  flow.  Animals  carrying 
young  should  be  kept  in  good  condition,  but 
should  not  be  fed  heating  or  fattening  rations. 

Animals  about  to  give  birth  to  young,  unless 
on  the  range,  should  be  given  good,  roomy,  dry 
and  comfortable  quarters  in  box  stalls  or  yards. 

Sows  should  have  a  house  so  constructed  that 
the  mothers  are  prevented  from  lying  down  on 
the  pigs.  An  "A"  pig  house  is  good.  The  nest 
may  be  provided  with  a  two  by  six-inch  plank 
projecting  around  the  edges  and  placed  six  or 
seven  inches  from  the  floor.  The  little  pigs  may 
be  pushed  or  squeezed  under  this  guard  without 
killing  or  injuring  them.  Sows  sometimes  de- 
vour their  young.  This  is  usually  due  to  im- 
proper feeding  with  heating  or  fattening  foods 


342  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

or  with  a  ration  much  out  of  balance.  It  may 
be  caused  by  indigestion  or  bad  physical  condi- 
tion. If  it  becomes  a  habit  the  sow  should  be 
fattened  and  butchered  or  sold. 

WEANING  With  dairy  cows  the  best  practice  seems  to 

be  never  to  let  the  calf  nurse  its  mother.  '  The 
first,  or  colostrum  milk,  should  all  be  fed  to  the 
calf,  as  110  artificial  food  can  take  the  place  of 
this  natural  secretion.  The  calves  should  be  far 
enough  removed  from  their  mothers  to  be  "out 
of  sight  and  out  of  mind."  It  is  probably  bet- 
ter to  teach  them  to  drink  at  once  than  it  is  to 
bother  with  any  of  the  patent  nipples,  teats,  or 
feeding  devices  on  the  market.  Stock  calves  are 
usually  weaned  when  they  are  six  or  seven 
months  of  age.  Colts  are  weaned  at  five  or  six 
months  old.  Lambs  are  weaned  at  four  months, 
and  pigs  at  two  months.  Usually  all  that  is  nec- 
essary is  to  separate  them  from  their  mothers, 
and  give  plenty  of  other  food. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


VETERINARY 
MANAGE- 
MENT 


COMMON  UISKASKS  or* LIVE  STOCK. 

Dumb  animals  are  man's  most  dependable  friends, 
and  they  must  depend  on  him  for  the  blessings  they 
enjoy,  and  their  ability  to  give  something1  in  return. 

By  veterinary  management  we  mean  the 
common  farm  surgery  which  must  be  practiced 
on  animals  and  the  treatment  £iid  nursing  of 
those  that  may  be  ailing.  Much  of  the  success 
in  the  treatment  of  any  disease  by  the  farmer 
and  stockman  Avill  depend  upon  the  point  of 
view.  The  farmer  should  remember  that  medi- 
cines do  not  cure  disease;  that  nature  always 
makes  a  tremendous  effort  to  bring  about  recov- 
ery. The  use  of  remedial  measures  is  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  nature.  If  you  look  upon  the 
treatment  of  your  animals  from  this  standpoint, 
you  will  be  more  cautious,  more  humane,  and 
more  successful. 


DRY 

CLIMATE 
HEALTHFUL 


There  is  probably  no  place  in  the  world 
where  live  stock  of  all  kinds  is  generally  more 
healthy  than  in  the  arid  regions  of  the  AVi-st. 
The  los-i  we  suffer  is  not  so  much  from  the  rav- 
ages of  any  one  or  more  contagious  diseases  as  it 
is  from  the  aggregate  loss  incident  to  innumer- 
able minor  things,  such  as  accidents,  colics,  poi- 
sfinnus  plants,  etc.  Most  of  this  loss  is  attribu- 


344  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

table  either  to  ignorance  or  carelessness,  and  is 
preventable. 

RECOGNITION  The  ability  to  recognize  the  more  common 
diseases  of  live  stock  by  the  farmer  and  stock- 
man is  often  the  means  of  saving  the  lives  of 
valuable  animals.  A  knowledge  of  how  to  pre- 
vent disease  is  of  vastly  more  importance. 

TROUBLE  BY  Domestic   animals   have  lost   the   power   of 

GIVING  rustling  for  themselves.      They  have  become  de- 

GOOD  CARE  pendent  upon  the  personal  attention  of  man.  It 
is  said  that  wild  cattle  will  not  eat  poisonous 
plants,  but  tame  ones  do  not  seem  to  discrimi- 
nate. They  take  what  man  gives  them. 

While  it  is  often  true  that  germs  cause  dis- 
ease, and  are  the  real  and  only  cause  of  the  dis- 
ease, yet  the  fact  remains  that  animals  well  cared 
for  are  not  so  predisposed  to  disease.  This  rule 
holds  good  at  every  stage  of  the  game  in  the  live 
stock  business. 

Feed  your  live  stock  from  the  day  they  are 
born ; — feed  them  well.  It  will  not  pay  to  keep 
them  unless  you  are  prepared  to  feed  them. 

Tn  the  arid  region  we  have  the  very  best  pos- 
sible sanitary  conditions.  If  animals  are  not 
penned  up  too  closely  or  given  dirty  quarters, 
they  naturally  keep  well.  A  good,  pure  water- 
supply  should  always  be  available.  Be  cautious 
about  feeding  any  food  that  is  mouldy,  musty, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


345 


dirty,  or  of  a  poisonous  nature.  Most  farmers 
imagine  that  water  that  is  not  fit  for  human  use 
is  still  good  enough  for  their  stock. 


STABIiES 

AND 

SHELTER 


With  our  dry  air  and  little  precipitation, 
animals  do  not  need  the  close  housing  which  is 
given  in  the  East.  Dry  air  does  not  carry  with 
it  penetrating  cold  As  a  rule,  animals  do  better 
in  the  arid  regions  if  kept  outdoors.  It  is  im- 
portant to  protect  them  against  winds,  which  can 
be  done  with  shelter  belts  or  wind-breaks.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  build  warm,  close  stables  for 
horses  or  cows.  General  shelter  sheds  or  fences, 
however,  are  important  Avhere  stock  is  being  fed. 


DO  NOT 

EXPERIMENT 


The  farmer  should  attempt  to  do  nothing 
for  sick  animals  if  he  does  not  know  what  the 
trouble  is  or  what  the  effect  of  his  attempt  will 
probably  be.  In  cases  of  complicated  disease, 
and  especially  Avhere  it  proves  to  be  contagious 
or  infectious,  going  from  one  animal  to  another, 
he  should  call  a  qualified  veterinarian.  It  is 
easy,  however,  for  him  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  more  common  and  simple  troubles  and 
successfully  treat  them  on  the  ranch.  The  cen- 
tral idea  is  to  see  that  healthy  animals  receive 
the  best  care  and  attention,  and  when  ani- 
mals are  sick  the  first  thing  is  always  to  get  them 
comfortable  and  make  their  surroundings  such 
that  nature  may  do  her  best.  Then,  if  you  can 


346  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

assist  by  the  use  of  certain  remedies,  very  well ; 
but  do  not  experiment.  Always  separate  your 
sick  animals  from  those  that  are  well. 


THE  HORSE'S  Here  is  Avhere  you  are  likely  to  get  the  worst 

of  it  in  a  horse  trade.  There  is  an  old  saying, 
"No  foot,  no  horse."  There  are  more  diseases 
in  the  front  feet  of  a  horse  to  render  him  unfit 
for  service  than  all  the  other  diseases  combined. 

The  horse  should  have  a  broad,  deep  foot, 
with  wide  heels,  and  his  pastern  should  stand 
out  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  There  is 
more  weight  on  the  front  feet  than  there  is  on 
the  hind  feet,  and  from  the  shape  of  the  leg  it  is 
readily  seen  that  there  is  more  concussion  on  the 
front  feet. 

Shoeing  always  injures  the  feet,  no  matter 
how  well  it  is  done.  If  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
the  feet  shod,  do  not  allow  your  horse-shoer  to 
touch  the  feet  with  buttress  or  rasp  any  more 
than  is  necessary  to  remove  any  loose  scales  or 
horn.  Do  not  leave  the  shoes  on  more  than  six 
weeks  without  resetting.  Remember  that  the 
foot  grows  larger  as  it  grows  down,  and  the  nails 
must  give  a  little  or  the  foot  will  be  pinched. 
The  side  along  the  toe  changes  the  angle  of  the 
bones  in  the  feet  and  one  or  all  of  these  things 
combined  are  sufficient  in  most  cases  to  bring 
on  one  or  more  of  several  diseases  of  the  feet. 
Perhaps  you  are  shoeing  your  horses  more  than 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


347 


is  necessary.  Remember  that  the  bare  feet  will 
stand  lots  of  wear  until  they  have  once  been 
shod.  Do  not  get  into  the  horse-shoeing  habit 
and  think  that  a  farm  horse  must  be  shod  just 
because  he  is  a  horse.  In  buying  a  horse,  look 
well  to  the  feet. 


COLICS    IN 
THE    HORSE 


Is  your  horse  subject  to  regular  attacks  of 
the  colic?  If  so,  the  first  thing  is  to  see  that 
his  teeth  are  in  good  condition ;  then  look  to  the 
quality  of  his  food.  The  worst  colics  are  pro- 
duced by  feeding  corn  or  too  much  concentrated 
food,  such  as  wheat  or  barley  or  alfalfa.  It 
simply  means  indigestion.  But  what  are  you 
going  to  do  when  he  is  sick  ?  If  you  are  living 
iu  a  remote  district  and  a  veterinarian  can  not 
be  secured,  the  following  suggestions  may  be  of 
some  service: 

In  the  first  place,  let's  look  to  the  "don'ts." 


SOME 
DON'TS 


Do  not  begin  by  giving  everything  that  some 
wise  neighbor  may  suggest — he  having  gotten 
the  remedy  from  his  grandfather,  who,  accord- 
ing to  tradition,  gave  some  old  "geeser"  five  dol- 
lars for  the  remedy  because  it  was  known  to  be  a 
"dend  shotv  cure.  Remember  that  most  horses 
that  have  colic  will  recover  without  treatment. 
If  you  do  not  know  what  to  do,  do  nothing  but 
give  the  horse  a  good  bed  to  roll  on.  making  him 
as  comfortable  as  possible.  Do  not  pour  modi- 


348  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

cine  down  the  horse's  nose;  nature  never  in- 
tended that  way.  Neither  try  to  blow  powder 
down  his  throat — the  horse  may  blow  first. 
Do  not  terrorize  the  animal  by  chasing  him 
around  and  forcing  him  to  exercise.  There 
are  more  foolish  things  done  for  a  colicy 
horse — done  with  the  best  intentions ;  in  fact,  so 
much  is  usually  done  that  the  horse  simply  gives 
up  in  despair  and  dies,  when  he  might  have  re- 
covered had  he  been  left  to  himself.  The  great- 
est mistake  made  in  this  connection  is  the  com- 
mon belief  that  because  a  horse  stretches  himself 
out  when  he  has  colic  there  is  necessarily  some- 
thing wrong  with  his  kidneys  or  bladder.  Very 
seldom  is  there  anything  wrong  with  the  horse's 
bladder  or  his  kidneys ;  but  when  he  has  pain  in 
his  bowels  he  likes  to  stretch  the  muscles  over 
his  belly  by  getting  his  front  and  hind  legs  far 
apart.  Further  than  that,  it  is  a  fact  that  a 
horse  has  cramps  in  his  bowels  if  he  is  unable 
to  relieve  the  bladder.  However,  the  bladder 
will  not  suffer  from  distention  for  several  hours. 
The  result  of  this  common  mistake  is  to  give  the 
horse  sweet  spirits  of  nitre  for  his  kidneys,  or 
perhaps  a  little  buchu  or  rosin. 


TREATMENT  Assuming  that  vou  are  far  from  town,  with 

OP   COLIC  ".  ,     . 

no  competent  veterinarian  available,  and  have 
only  household  remedies  upon  which  to  depend, 
we  will  suggest  that  you  give  an  ounce  of  tur- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  349 

pentine  in  a  pint  of  raw  linseed  oil  to  stop  the 
fermentation  in  the  bowels  and  the  accumula- 
tion of  gas.  To  relieve  the  pain  you  will  no 
doubt  have  at  hand  some  tincture  of  opium 
(laudanum),  which  you  can  give,  say,  an  ounce 
in  a  pint  of  water.  ~No  matter  what  the  remedy 
is,  the  central  idea  in  treatment  for  colic  is  to 
remove  the  irritating  food  in  the  bowels  by 
means  of  physics  and  injections  in  the  rectum  of 
warm  water;  to  stop  fermentation  of  the  food 
by  giving  anti-ferments,  such  as  salicylic  acid, 
creoline,  turpentine,  etc.,  and  to  remove  the  pain 
by  means  of  such  remedies  as  opium,  morphine, 
chloral  hydrate,  cannibis  indica,  etc. 

BLACKLEG  Blackleg    (Si/nt jttoniatic    antlirax)    is   quite 

prevalent  among  live  stock  in  the  arid  region. 
Fortunately  the  disease  affects  only  young  cattle 
and  the  young  of  other  species.  There  is  no 
use  trying  to  treat  the  animals  if  they  once  get 
the  disease.  The  only  hope  lies  in  prevention. 
All  preventive  measures  tried  have  failed  to  be 
of  much  service  except  vaccination.  Many  stock- 
men have  lost  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  vaccination, 
mainly  because  it  has  been  their  custom  to  wait 
until  the  disease  has  broken  out  among  the  calves. 
In  cases  like  this  a  number  of  calve*  will  be  sure 
to  die,  even  though  they  have  been  vaccinated. 
The  way  to  do  is  to  vaccinate  twice  each  year 
and  make  it  a  regular  chore.  Get  some  good 


350 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


vaccine,  either  in  powder  or  pill  form,  give  it 
according  to  directions,  and  be  very  careful  in 
every  detail  so  that  you  are  sure  you  have  vac- 
cinated every  calf.  Vaccine  may  be  secured 
from  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  from 
the  Colorado  Agricultural  College,  the  Kansas 
Agricultural  College,  and  several  private  firms. 
Blackleg  is  a  germ  disease;  therefore  the  car- 
casses should  be  burned  or  deeply  buried  in  the 
ground. 

GLANDERS  Glanders  affects  mostly  the  equine   (horse, 

ass  and  mule)  family;  there  is  no  cure  for  the 
disease.  It  is  a  very  dangerous  disease,  as  it  is 
often  transmitted  to  the  human.  A  horse  that 
lias  a  chronic  discharge  from  the  nose  and  does 
not  seem  to  be  thriving,  needs  attention  at  once, 
and  the  fact  should  immediately  be  reported  to 
the  State  authorities.  The  mallein  test  is  given 
to  be  sure  of  the  disease.  The  animals  are  con- 
demned and  destroyed.  In  some  States  the  Leg- 
islatures reimburse  the  owner  in  part,  at  least, 
for  loss  from  glanders. 


TUBERCU- 
LOSIS OF 
CATTLE 


Since  Koch  discovered  the  germ  which  pro- 
duces the  disease,  the  investigation  of  scientists 
have  kept  up  a  lively  general  interest  in  the 
cause,  spread,  prevention,  and  cure  of  phthisis, 
or  consumption.  This  is  recognized  as  the  most 
common  and  the  worst  disease  in  the  world. 


ARID    AGRIC HI/TURK.  351 

only  is  it  a  destroyer  of  more  human  lives  than 
any  other  disease  afflicting  man,  but  it  also  in- 
fests birds  and  almost  all  kinds  of  animals,  from 
the  frog  to  the  rhinoceros.  Among  domesti- 
cated animals,  the  horse  and  the  sheep  are  com- 
paratively free  from  tubercle,  while  the  cow 
-ci'ins  to  be  the  natural  host  of  bacillus  tubercu- 
losis. The  supposed  identity  of  human  and  bo- 
vine tuberculosis  has  made  the  matter  of  more 
serious  import  than  would  be  the  case  if  direct 
financial  loss  to  the  cattle  industry  or  swine  rais- 
ing was  the  only  consideration.  The  health  and 
safety  of  ourselves  and  our  families  are  con- 
cerned and  we  should  neither  harbor  diseased 
animals  nor  use  their  products.  The  open  dry 
air  and  sunshine  of  the  arid  region  is  a  natural 
preventive  of  tiiberculosis,  and  our  stock  are  not 
apt  to  contract  the  disease  at  home  unless  we 
bring  infected  animals  from  the  East.  The  Tu- 
berculin test  is  a  sure  diagnosis  of  this  trouble 
and  no  farmer  should  ever  buy  or  use  a  milk  cow 
or  an  expensive  breeding  animal  without  first 
it  tested  with  tuberculin. 


INFECTIOUS  This  is  comparatively  a  new  disease  of  horses 

in  the  West.  It  has  been  called  ''swamp  fever," 
"horse  typhoid,"  "no-name  disease/'  etc.  The 
symptoms  of  this  disease  are  not  easily  described 
although  they  are  known.  The  mucus  mem- 
brane of  the  mouth  looks  pallid;  there  mav  be 


352 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


some  swelling  of  the  liind  legs  (stocking)  ;  but 
in  the  main  the  only  symptoms  are  that  the  ani- 
mal sweats  easily,  appears  to  be  feverish  at  times, 
stands  around  yawning  like  a  tired  person,  eats 
well,  but  gradually  grows  weaker.  Host  all 
these  cases  die  at  from  six  weeks  to  a  year  and  a 
half.  The  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture 
has  investigated  the  disease.  Up  to  this  time 
there  is  110  treatment  that  is  to  be  recommended. 


FOOT  AND 
MOUTH    . 

DISEASE 


This  disease  is  one  of  the  four  great  bovine 
scourges.  It  has  made  its  appearance  twice  in 
the  Eastern  States,  and  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture  is  now  spending  large  sums  of 
money  trying  to  exterminate  it  from  the  coun- 
try. If  it  ever  gets  into  the  Western  States, 
where  live  stock  range  unrestricted  in  many 
counties,  it  Avill  be  practically  impossible  to  ex- 
terminate the  disease,  and  the  damage  to  the 
live  stock  industry  of  the  West  can  scarcely  be 
conceived.  If  you  see  any  cattle  suffering  with 
the  following  symptoms,  report  it  to  the  State 
or  Federal  authorities  at  once. 


SYMPTOMS 
OF  FOOT 
AND   MOUTH 
DISEASE 


A  sore  mouth,  the  animal  slobbering  and  re- 
fusing to  eat.  An  examination  of  the  mouth 
will  reveal  the  presence  of  ulcers  and  the  mem- 
brane will  be  fiery  red  from  inflammation.  The 
feet  will  be  sore  and  the  animal  scarcely  able  to 
Avalk.  There  is  a  high  fever.  If  in  a  cow,  the 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


353 


milk  secretion  will  stop.  The  horns  are  hot  and 
the  disease  spreads  rapidly  to  the  other  animals 
of  the  same  species. 

DISTEMPER  Distemper   (colt  strangles)   is  a  disease  of 

young  horses  and  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
\Vest.  It  is  probably  more  prevalent  in  the 
spring  time,  it  is  an  infectious  disease. 

SYMPTOMS  The  colt  appears  to  be  feverish,  stupid,  does 

not  eat  well ;  appears  to  be  tired  and  draws  great 
quantities  of  water.  In  two  or  three  days  the 
throat  is  found  to  be  very  sore  and  there  is  usu- 
ally a  swelling  behind  the  angles  of  the  jaws. 
In  two  or  three  days  more  this  swelling  softens 
and  pus  is  discharged  freely.  If  the  disease 
runs  a  normal  course,  the  colt  recovers  within  a 
\veek  or  two.  If  it  runs  an  irregular  course,  it 
may  mean  the  accumulation  of  pus  in  the  gut- 
tural pouches  just  below  the  ears  on  one  or  both 
sides.  There  may  be  inflammation  of  the  throat 
that  strangles  the  colt  and  makes  breathing  diffi- 
cult. There  is  likely  to  be  inflammation  of  the 
lungs.  Or,  a  bad  diarrhoea  may  set  in.  One 
of  the  worst  complications  shows  itself  two  or 
three  weeks  after  the  colt  has  apparently  recov- 
ered. A  swelling  will  suddenly  appear  in  some 
unusual  place  on  the  body.  Within  a  day  or 
two  this  will  be  found  filled  with  pus ;  soon  other 
abscesses  will  appear  and  the  animal  is  in  very 

bad  shape. 
12 


354: 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


TREATMENT 
OF   DIS- 
TEMPER 


HOVEN  OR 

BLOAT 


The  all-important  thing  when  the  animal 
first  comes  down  is  to  see  that  the  colt  does  not 
get  wTet;  that  he  is  kept  in  and  given  a  little 
grain  and  the  very  best  of  care.  Other  compli- 
cations should  be  treated  as  they  appear.  The 
throat  can  be  poulticed  and  the  guttural  pouches 
opened  from  the  outside.  Abscesses  on  the  body 
should  always  be  opened  with  a  sharp  knife  as 
soon  as  they  become  soft.  If  the  colt  is  choking 
badly  from  the  inflammation  in  the  throat,  he 
may  be  treated  by  causing  him  to  inhale  carbol- 
ized  steam.  Put  two  quarts  of  bran  into  a  gunny 
sack  and  dip  it  into  a  pailful  of  boiling-hot 
water,  in  which  has  been  placed  a  tablespoonful 
of  carbolic  acid.  Lift  the  sack  over  the  head, 
allowing  him  to  inhale  the  vapor. 

Bloat  is  caused  by  the  rapid  formation  of 
gas  in  the  paunch  of  cattle  or  sheep.  It  is  caused 
from  over-eating  of  green  or  succulent  food, 
which  ferments  before  it  can  digest.  Bloat  is  a 
very  common  trouble  in  the  West  where  alfalfa 
is  pastured  or  where  other  green  forage  is  used, 
such  as  peas,  rape,  or  clover.  Sometimes  dry 
alfalfa  hay  causes  bloating  when  it  is  very  fine 
stemmed,  leafy  and  moist.  If  the  bloating  is 
severe  it  causes  the  death  of  the  animal  through 
stopping  the  heart  and  pressure  on  the  lungs. 
Animals  which  show  that  they  are  filling  up 
with  .gas  should  be  attended  to  promptly.  Cat^e 
may  be  relieved  by  puncturing  the  rumen  or 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  355 

paunch  with  a  knife  or  trocar  and  canula.  Al- 
ways do  this  on  the  left  side,  half  way  between 
tiie  hip  bone  and  the  ribs.  In  severe  cases  I 
have  known  a  farmer  to  use  a  butcher-knife  and 
make  a  hole  large  enough  to  run  in  his  hand  and 
pull  out  the  alfalfa.  This  is  not  necessary,  as 
a  hole  large  enough  to  allow  the  gas  to  escape  is 
sufficient.  A  trocar  and  canula  should  be  kept 
for  the  purpose.  Many  recommend  the  same 
treatment  for  bloat  in  lambs  or  sheep,  but  while 
the  treatment  is  always  successful,  the  sheep  so 
treated  usually  dies.  A  better  remedy  with 
lambs  is  to  use  the  "probang."  This  is  simply 
a  piece  of  rubber  hose  one-half  inch  in  diameter 
and  three  or  four  feet  long.  Block  the  mouth 
of  the  sheep  open  so  it  cannot  bite  off  the  tube 
and  then  run  it  down  into  the  paunch  like  a 
stomach  pump.  Work  it  around  until  the  gas 
is  reached  and  allowed  to  escape.  In  several 
years'  experience  feeding  lambs  at  a  high  alti- 
tude where  the  alfalfa  hay  produced  bloat  in 
many  animals,  we  never  lost  a  lamb  where  they 
were  discovered  in  time,  and  we  could  get  to 
them  with  our  rubber  tube  before  they  died. 

GRAIN  Often  a  horse  or  cow  will  get  loose  and  help 

themselves  to  grain  from  a  bin  or  sack  left  where 
they  can  reach  it.  Such  gorging  often  produces 
the  death  of  the  animal  unless  it  is  discovered  in 
time.  Physiq  such  an  animal  at  once.  Give 
the  horse  a  quart  of  raw  linseed  oil  and  the  cow 


356 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


MILK    FEVER 


CONTAGIOUS 
ABORTION 


a  pound  or  two  of  glaiiber  salts  as  a  drench. 
The  veterinary  doctor  also  injects  eserine  to  pro- 
duce action  of  the  bowels,  and  where  they  get  to 
a  case  in  time  they  are  pretty  sure  to  save  the 
animal. 

Dairy  cows  often  have  milk  fever  soon  after 
calving.  They  usually  get  down  and  so  sick 
they  are  unconscious  before  the  disease  is  dis- 
covered. A  remedy  has  been  found  which  is  so 
simple  and  sure  that  it  is  no  less  than  marvelous. 
This  remedy  is  to  milk  out  the  udder  and  then 
force  air  into  the  teats  until  the  udder  is  blown 
up  like  a  balloon.  This  may  be  done  with  a 
bicycle  pump  and  any  small  tube  that  can  be 
pushed  into  the  teat  opening.  A  cow  that  is 
apparently  dead  when  given  this  treatment  wrill 
usually  revive  and  be  on  her  feet  in  an  hour  after 
it  is  done.  The  after-treatment  consists  of  care- 
ful feeding  with  bran  mashes  and  often  some 
stimulant  like  four  ounces  of  whiskey  or  two 
ounces  of  Jamaica  ginger  is  given  every  four 
hours,  for  a  day  or  two. 

Contagious  abortion  causes  much  loss  with 

o 

cattle.  It  is  transmitted  from  one  cow  to  an- 
other or  by  infected  bulls,  and  the  surest  remedy 
is  to  get  rid  of  infected  animals  by  sending  them 
to  slaughter.  Mayo  says  that  salting  pregnant 
cows  two  or  three  times  a  week  with  a  small 
handful  of  a  mixture  of  ten  pounds  of  common 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  357 

salt,  one  pound  of  sulphur,  and  one  pound  of 
pulverized  hyposulphate  of  soda  seems  a  good 
preventive.  If  animals  that  are  valuable  become 
affected  they  may  be  cured  by  thorough  and 
often  repeated  disinfection.  The  stable  should 
be  thoroughly  disinfected  with  5  per  cent,  car- 
bolic acid  solution.  Anyone  who  would  try  to 
cure  the  trouble  should  do  so  under  the  advice  of 
some  one  who  has  had  experience. 

On  nearly  all  cattle  ranges  contagious  abor- 
tion is  present  and  causes  more  or  less  loss.  The 
best  range  practice  in  dealing  with  this  disease 
seems  to  be  to  promptly  and  carefully  bury  or 
burn  the  dead  calf  and  tissues  and  isolate  the 
cow  in  a  pasture  or  field  kept  for  that  purpose. 
Send  such  cows  to  market  as  soon  as  in  condition 
or  a  shipment  of  other  stock  is  made.  One  large 
range  man  in  the  West  says  he  has  kept  his  loss 
from  abortion  down  to  less  than  one  per  cent, 
bv  this  method. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


POISONOUS 

PLANTS 


POISONOUS  PLANTS  OF  THE  WEST. 

Poisonous  plants  occur  locally,  and  when  they  are 
found  our  domesticated  animals  have  no  more  sense 
than  to  eat  them. 

Poison  weeds  are  sometimes  a  serious  prob- 
lem with  the  western  stockman,  and  almost  all 
the  trouble  is  caused  by  about  six  different  spe- 
cies of  plants.  Every  stockman  should  at  least 
be  able  to  identify  these  plants  in  order  that  he 
may  become  familiar  with  them  and  take  some 
measure  to  avoid  them. 


LOCO  WEED  There  are  several  species  of  loco  weed,  but 

two,  the  white  and  purple  loco,  are  known  to  be 
the  chief  offenders.  The  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture,  in  conjunction  with  the  Colorado 
Experiment  Station,  has  been  investigating  the 
loco  problem  the  last  four  years.  They  report 
that  the  poison  in  the  weed  is  the  inorganic  sub- 
stance, barium.  Up  to  the  present  time  an  effect- 
ive remedy  or  an  antidote  has  not  been  deter- 
mined. Loco  leaves  its  impress  upon  the  nerv- 
ous sytem  to  such  an  extent  that  altho  the  ani- 
mal seems  to  have  fully  recovered  from  its  effects 
it  may  break  out  at  any  time.  A  locoed  horse 
may  not  show  that  he  is  diseased,  unless  he  is 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  359 

heated  up  or  excited.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to 
become  familiar  with  the  plants  and  with  the 
symptoms  of  the  disease,  keeping  the  live  stock 
away  from  it.  When  a  locoed  animal  is  found 
it  should  be  immediately  taken  up,  given  a  good 
physic,  and  then  plenty  of  grain.  Sheep  and 
cattle,  if  not  too  badly  locoed,  will  make  a  fairly 
good  recovery,  put  on  flesh,  and  may  be  sold  for 
the  block.  It  seems  useless  to  try  to  exterminate 
loco  weeds  from  the  range.  The  symptoms  of 
the  disease  are  lack  of  thrift,  temporary  blind- 
ness and  crazy  staggers. 

LARKSPUR  In  amount  of  damage  done  to  livestock  in- 

terests of  the  West  larkspur  is  second  in  import- 
ance only  to  loco.  It  is  widely  spread  and  in 
many  places  the  only  serious  poison  weed. 
There  are  several  different  species  of  larkspur. 
These  are  commonly  known  as  the  tall  and  the 
dwarf  larkspur.  It  appears  that  they  are  all 
poisonous  and  they  may  all  be  recognized  when 
in  bloom  from  the  characteristic  color  (blue) 
and  shape  of  the  flower.  Larkspur  does  its  dam- 
age to  live  stock  in  the  early  spring,  and  almost 
invariably  just  after  a  rain  or  a  snow  storm. 

SYMPTOMS  OP         The  animal  is  seen  to  stiffen  its  legs  and  will 

POISONING        stroll  along  for  a  while  and  finally  fall ;  and  it 

will  be  found  to  be  bloated  much  the  same  as 

from  eating  alfalfa.     The  animal  slobbers  at  the 

mouth  and  swallows  continually. 


360 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


TREATMENT 
OP 

LARKSPUR 


DEATH   CAMA 


WILD 
PARSNIP 


If  the  animal  is  extremely  bloated,  it  should 
be  tapped  through  the  left  side,  high  up,  with  a 
trocar,  or,  in  the  absence  of  a  trocar,  with  a  jack- 
knife.  It  should  be  pulled  around,  if  necessary, 
and  its  head  turned  uphill.  The  stockmen  claim 
there  is  much  benefit  derived  from  bleeding  the 
animal  from  the  ear  vein  or  under  the  tail. 
Potassium  permanganate,  twenty  grains  to  a 
pint  of  water,  poured  down  the  animal's  throat, 
is  a  chemical  antidote  and  is  almost  a  sure  cure. 
The  active  poison  in  the  plant  is  Delphinine,  and 
it  kills  by  depressing  the  heart's  action  and  the 
breathing. 

This  plant  has  a  bulb  and  looks  somewhat 
like  the  wild  onion.  It  grows  sparingly  in  the 
ravines  and  sometimes  over  the  western  ranges 
on  either  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  a 
very  deadly  plant,  but  fortunately  grows  so 
sparsely  that  animals  seldom  get  enough  at  any 
one  time  to  kill  them.  In  the  case  of  poison  it 
is  usually  not  more  than  one  or  two  of  a  herd 
that  become  affected,  not  like  larkspur,  where 
fifty  or  a  hundred  may  get  down  at  one  time. 
There  is  no  knoAvn  cure  for  Camus  poisoning. 

The  wild  parsnip  (Wyoming  water  hem- 
lock) is  a  deadly  plant,  but  fortunately  the  pois- 
on is  mostly  in  the  roots.  The  roots  pull  easily 
with  the  plant,  and  are  sometimes  eaten  with 
deadly  effect.  The  plant  grows  along  ditch 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


361 


SYMPTOMS 
OP 

PARSNIP 
POISONING 


LUPINE 


SYMPTOMS 
OP 

LUPINOSIS 


banks  and  in  wet  meadows.  It  has  an  umbrella- 
shaped  top  and  looks  something  like  the  garden 
parsnip. 

In  the  case  of  poisoning  by  this  plant  the 
animal  is  thrown  in  convulsions  and  the  most 
excruciating  pain.  He  will  thrash  his  head  upon 
the  ground ;  the  abdominal  muscles  will  draw  up 
convulsively  and  there  will  be  passage  of  blood 
from  the  bowels  and  often  with  the  urine.  Only 
one  or  two  animals  in  a  herd  are  poisoned  at  a 
time.  Treatment  is  not  often  effectual.  The 
remedy  is  prevention,  by  digging  out  the  plants. 

This  plant  grows  all  over  the  West,  by  the 
roadside,  in  the  meadows,  and  on  the  sides  of  the 
mountains.  It  grows  one  to  three  feet  high  and 
has  a  bright  blue  flower.  When  it  goes  to  seed 
it  has  a  pod  which  resembles  the  garden  bean ; 
hence  the  name  "Buffalo  bean."  The  only 
part  of  the  plant  that  is  poisonous  is  the  seed. 
The  plant  is  often  cut  for  hay  and  makes  most 
excellent  forage.  The  only  thing  to  guard 
against  is  that  it  be  not  cut  after  it  has  gone  to 
seed.  Or,  if  it  is  cut  for  hay  late  in  the  season, 
it  should  be  harvested  only  after  the  pods  have 
broken  open  and  the  seeds  have  fallen  to  the 
ground. 

The  symptoms  in  sheep  that  have  eaten  tin- 
seeds  of  lupine  are  unmistakable.  The  sheep 


362  AEID    AGRICULTURE. 

appear  to  be  blind;  they  will  fall  over  one  an- 
other, run  into  the  fences,  and  they  may  go  into 
convulsions.  If  they  get  lupinosis  in  a  chronic 
form,  the  skin  turns  yellow.  Horses  are  affected 
in  the  same  way,  more  commonly  with  the 
chronic  form. 

OTHER  There  are  many  poisonous  plants  that  are 

POISONOUS  ,,  J  . V  -.. 

PLANTS  occasionally  eaten  with  more  or  Jess  disastrous 

effects.  The  branches  and  leaves  of  the  wild 
cherry,  just  at  the  time  of  wilting,  will  kill  an 
animal  quickly  from  prussic  acid  poisoning. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  Johnson  grass.  Sec- 
ond growth  sorghum  and  Kafir  corn,  when  grown 
in  a  stunted  condition,  will  often  kill  from  the 
same  cause.  Musty  oats  will  seriously  affect  the 
horse's  kidneys.  Mold  that  grows  on  potatoes, 
carrots,  and  other  vegetables  in  damp  cellars,  or 
mouldy  sugar  beet  tops  in  the  field  are  danger- 
ous when  eaten  by  animals.  Potatoes  exposed 
to  the  sun  turn  green  and  become  poisonous. 
The  Rubber  weed  does  not  kill  by  the  presence  of 
a  poison,  but  by  fatally  obstructing  the  bowels. 
The  Giant  grass,  or  horsetail,  that  grows  in 
sloughs  and  is  relished  by  horses,  is  often  deadly. 

The  so-called  skunk  cabbage  (Wild  lobelia), 
grows  from  three  to  six  feet  high  in  the  lofty 
ravines  and  has  a  leaf  as  big  as  the  hand.  It  is 
very  poisonous  to  live  stock. 

The  Monk's  hood  (aconite)  has  a  purple 
flower  and  is  shaped,  as  its  name  implies,  like  a 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  363 

monk's  hood.  This  plant  is  very  deadly,  but  is 
not  often  eaten  by  live  stock.  All  stockmen 
should  become  familiar  with  the  plants  to  which 
their  stock  has  access,  especially  those  that  may 
be  poisonous. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


COMMON 
SURGERY 
ON  THE 

FARM 


COMMON  FAEM  SURGERY. 

The  Secret  of  Success  in  Surgery  is  Cleanliness. 

There  is  a  certain  amount  of  surgery  neces- 
sary on  the  farm  that  can  be  done  by  the  farmer 
himself  or  one  of  his  men  who  chances  to  be 
handy  at  such  things. 


DEHORNING  If  the  ranchman  raises  a  breed  of  cattle  that 

grows  horns,  he  must  amputate  the  horns.  Horns 
may  be  useful  on  the  open  range,  where  bulls 
must  fight  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest  makes 
it  important  that  the  strongest  gains  ascendency, 
.  but  they  are  useless  and  worse  than  useless  in  the 

home  field  or  in  the  feed  lot. 

There  are  three  ways  of  getting  rid  of  the 
horns.  One  is  to  make  a  circle  around  the  but- 
ton, when  the  calf  is  a  week  old,  with  a  sharp 
knife  and  remove  the  horn  core  entirely.  This 
method  is  to  be  recommended  on  the  farm,  but 
is  not  useful  under  range  conditions,  because  the 
calves  are  not  at  hand  when  the  operation  should 
be  performed. 

Another  method  of  dehorning  is  to  use  the 
dehorning  shears,  of  which  there  are  several  dif- 
ferent kinds  on  the  market.  The  important 
thing  is  to  have  them  sharp  and  to  have  your 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


365 


BREEDING 
OFF  THE 
HORNS 


stocks  fixed  so  that  they  can  be  properly  secured 
for  the  operation.  In  using  the  shears  it  is 
necessary  to  cut  the  horn  off  very  close  to  the 
head. 

A  third  method  is  to  use  a  sharp  saw.  This 
is  to  be  recommended  for  old  animals  after  the 
horn  has  become  hollow  and  brittle. 

Dehorning  by  the  use  of  chemicals,  such  as 
caustic  potash,  etc.,  is  so  unsatisfactory  in  many 
cases  that  it  is  not  to  be  recommended. 

The  most  modern  cattle  are  those  which  are 
polled  or  naturally  hornless.  Rangemen  have 
long  thought  that  cattle  with  horns  were  more 
hardy  or  presented  some  other  advantage  where 
they  must  survive  on  the  open  range.  The  day 
of  the  open  range  is  past,  except  as  it  is  used  in 
connection  with  the  home  ranch.  There  has 
been  such  a  great  improvement  in  breeds  of  cat- 
tle the  past  few  years  that  there  are  hornless 
strains  of  the  most  important  ones.  Polled 
Angus  and  Galloways,  and  the  Red  Polled  cattle 
and  Polled  Short  Horns  have  been  carefully  bred 
and  improved,  and  we  now  have  a  polled  Here- 
ford, which  promises  to  take  the  place  of  the  old 
horned  tribes. 


DETAILING  The  tail  of  a  sheep  seems  to  serve  no  useful 

purpose.  There  are  so  many  reasons  why  it 
should  be  removed  and  so  few  reasons  why  it- 
should  not,  that  it  has  become  the  general  prac- 


306  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

tice  to  cut  off  the  tails  of  lambs  when  they  are  a 
few  weeks  old. 

THE  WAY  TO  The  lamb  is  caught  and  thrown  upon  its  back. 

The  attendant  sits  across  its  neck,  grasping  the 
hind  legs  of  the  lamb  and  holding  them  far  for- 
ward, while  the  operator  grasps  the  tail  about 
three  inches  from  the  body  with  his  left  hand, 
pushes  the  skin  up  on  the  tail,  and  with  one 
downward  sweep  of  the  knife  cuts  off  the  tail  at 
the  joint.  Now,  if  the  operator  is  not  on  his 
guard,  the  blood  from  the  severed  artery  will 
spurt  into  his  face.  One  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
operation  has  been  the  excessive  bleeding  which 
follows.  Various  methods  have  been  adopted  to 
check  this  loss  of  blood,  such  as  burning  the  stub 
of  the  tail  with  a  hot  iron,  the  use  of  caustic, 
tying  the  end  of  the  tail  with  a  string  or  cloth, 
ete. 

Here  is  a  suggestion  which,  if  adopted,  will 
make  this  matter  of  hemorrhage  a  thing  of  least 
importance.  Go  into  the  drug  store,  or  to  a 
physician,  or  send  away  to  some  instrument 
house  and  get  some  artery  forceps,  which  will 
cost  a  dollar  or  two.  Having  these  little  forceps 
at  hand  when  the  tail  has  been  cut  off,  you  sim- 
ply grasp  the  bleeding  artery  that  protrudes  and 
can  always  be  caught  at  the  first  attempt.  Close 
your  forceps  on  the  artery,  twist  the  instrument 
once  and  a  half  around,  remove  the  forceps,  and 
the  bleeding  has  stopped. 


ARID    AGRICUI/n'KK. 


367 


In  cutting  off  the  tails  of  sheep  the  same  as 
with  other  farm  operations,  the  greatest  of  care 
should  be  exercised  in  having  the  instrument  in 
hand  perfectly  clean.  A  good  antiseptic  to  use 
on  the  instruments  and  the  hands  and  as  a  dress- 
ing for  all  kinds  of  wounds  on  the  farm,  for  man 
and  beast,  is  Creoline.  This  can  be  secured  at 
any  drug  store  and  should  be  used  in  the  strength 
of  a  teaspoonful  in  a  pint  of  boiling  water. 

CASTRATION  In  castrating  animals  on  the  farm  it  will  pay 

in  the  long  run  to  use  soap  and  water  and  Creo- 
line as  an  antiseptic  freely  over  the  scrotum  be- 
fore making  an  incision  with  the  knife. 


CASTRATING 

CALVES 


CASTRATING 
COLTS 


In  castrating  calves  a  good,  sharp,  clean 
knife  is  sufficient  Always  make  a  long  incision 
on  the  sides  of  the  scrotum  or  cut  off  at  least  one- 
fourth  of  the  same  at  the  lower  end.  This  is 
done  to  prevent  healing  too  quickly  and  to  secure 
good  drainage.  The  cord  should  be  scraped  off 
high  up.  The  castrating  of  calves  should  not  be 
attended  with  the  loss  of  a  single  animal  if  the 
operation  is  properly  done. 

The  horse  is  very  much  subject  to  inflamma- 
tion following  castration,  and  the  work  should 
either  be  done  by  a  veterinarian  or  an  experi- 
enced castrator  in  the  neighborhood.  The  secrets 
of  success  are,  first,  to  have  everything  in  con- 
nection with  the  operation  perfectly  clean ;  sec- 


368  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

oiid,  to  make  incisions  at  least  four  inches  long 
so  as  to  secure  perfect  drainage,  and,  third,  to 
cut  the  artery  in  such  a  way  that  there  will  not 
be  excessive  bleeding  following  the  operation. 
The  cord  and  artery  should  be  removed  two 
inches  above  the  bulb.  The  easiest,  as  well  as 
the  most  scientific  way,  is  to  cut  off  the  cord  and 
the  artery  at  the  same  time  with  an  emasculator, 
an  instrument  which  every  stockman  should 
have,  and  which  can  be  secured  from  any  instru- 
ment house  for  $6.  This  instrument  will  often 
come  in  handy  in  doing  other  farm  operations, 
such  as  the  removal  of  tumors. 

CASTRATING  The   castration   of   sheep   is   attended   with 

many  difficulties.  The  scrotum  of  the  sheep  is 
so  large  that  the  inflammation  following  an  oper- 
ation often  causes  serious  difficulty.  A  large 
part  of  the  scrotum  should  be  removed  and  the 
cords  are  usually  pulled  out.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  do  this  with  the  teeth — the  hand  will  do. 

In  the  castration  of  all  animals  the  clamps 
are  no  longer  used,  neither  is  the  hot  iron  for 
searing  the  end  of  the  artery.  Tying  the  end  of 
the  artery  with  a  string  often  results  in  a  tum- 
orous  growth  in  the  end  of  the  cord,  which  has 
to  be  removed  later.  All  animals  that  have  been 
castrated  should  be  watched,  and  if  it  is  found 
that  they  are  swelling  badly  after  a  few  days,  it 
will  indicate  that  the  opening  of  the  wound  has 
closed  and  that  pus  is  accumulating  above.  In 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


369 


CASTRATING 
PIGS 


this  case,  no  matter  whether  it  he  the  sheep,  the 
calf,  or  the  colt,  YOU  should  catch  and  hold  the 
animal  and  push  the  finger  greased  with  cosmo- 
line  up  into  the  wound  and  free  the  imprisoned 
matter. 

The  swelling  will  usually  disappear  within  a 
few  hours  after  this  is  done.  The  colt  that  has 
heen  castrated  should  be  exercised  every  day. 
The  calf  will  seldom  need  any  attention.  In  the 
case  of  sheep  the  long  wool,  which  is  likely  to  get 
into  the  wound,  should  be  clipped  off  with  shears 
at  the  time  the  operation  is  performed,  at  least 
if  the  animals  are  allowed  to  get  too  old  before 
the  operation. 

On  the  pig  the  operation  is  performed  much 
the  same  as  with  the  calf.  There  are  seldom 
any  bad  results  following  the  castration  of  pigs. 
The  main  thing  is  to  make  the  opening  low 
enough  so  there  will  be  drainage  from  the  bottom 
of  the  sack. 


AGE   FOB 

CASTRATING 

ANIMALS 


In  the  castration  of  a  colt  the  age  should  de- 
pend much  upon  the  animal.  Get  that  idea  out 
of  your  head  that  spring  is  the  only  time  to  cas- 
trate animals.  The  time  of  the  year  makes  no 
difference,  providing  the  weather  is  good,  your 
knife  sharp,  and  the  flies  are  not  too  bothers-  >mc. 
When  a  colt  is  well  developed  in  the  neck  and 
shoulders,  he  should  be  castrated  the  spring  fol- 
lowing his  birth — one  vear  old.  If  the  colt  is 


370 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


built  more  like  a  female,  well  developed  in  the 
hind  quarters  and  not  well  developed  in  the  neck 
and  shoulders,  he  should  not  be  castrated  until 
he  is  two  or  possibly  three  years  old. 

Calves  should  be  castrated  any  time  from 
three  months  up,  until  there  is  danger  of  leaving 
them  with  the  herd,  which  would  be  from  ten  to 
twelve  months. 

Sheep  should  be  castrated  when  young,  if 
you  wish  to  avoid  heavy  loss.  This  will  mean  at 
from  two  to  four  months  old. 

Pigs  are  usually  castrated  when  about  four 
months  old. 


BARBED 
WIRE   CUTS 
AND   OTHER 
WOUNDS 


In  the  case  of  a  barbed  wire  cut  the  first 
thing  is  to  stop  the  bleeding.  Don't  get  foolish 
and  put  on  a  lot  of  cobwebs,  axle  grease,  cow 
manure,  and  such  things  that  may  result  in  in- 
fecting the  wound  and  cause  serious  trouble.  A 
clean  bandage  of  white  muslin,  tied  firmly 
around  or  just  above  the  wound  will  stop  the 
bleeding  in  a  short  time.  After  the  bleeding  has 
stopped  the  bandage  should  be  removed,  the  rag- 
ged ends  of  all  tissue  should  be  clipped  off,  the 
clots  of  blood  removed,  and  an  antiseptic  dress- 
ing applied.  Do  not  keep  the  wound  tied  up,  as 
it  is  impossible  for  you  to  keep  it  antiseptic.  It 
is  better  to  leave  it  exposed  to  the  air.  For  a 
good  dressing  on  a  fresh  wound  any  one  of  the 
following  are  to  be  recommended : 

Carbolic  acid  in  water ;  one  to  fifty. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


371 


SEWING   UP 
WOUNDS 


Creoline,  one  teaspoonful  to  a  pint  of  boiled 
water.  The  same  for  Zenoleum. 

Corrosive  sublimate  tablets  may  be  obtained 
at  any  drug  store  and  used  in  water  according  to 
directions  on  the  bottle. 

As  a  dressing  for  a  wound  that  is  not  fresh, 
peroxide  of  hydrogen  in  full  strength,  or  diluted 
one-half  with  water  is  especially  good.  Com- 
mon air-slaked  lime,  boracic  acid  and  iodoform 
are  valuable  remedies.  In  fly  time  use  some  sub- 
stance like  chloronaptholeum  to  keep  them  away. 

A  ragged  barbed  wire  cut  on  the  muscles  or 
tendons  of  the  legs  is  seldom  sewed  up  with  any 
benefit.  The  muscles  tear  out  the  stitches  and 
in  two  or  three  days  the  wound  is  gaping  open. 
Neither  can  a  bandage  be  applied  with  any  bene- 
fit. 

Wounds  in  the  fleshy  part  of  the  body  should 
always  be  carefully  sewed  up,  being  sure  to  leave 
an  opening  at  the  lowest  part  of  the  wound  to 
insure  good  drainage.  In  case  of  emergency,  in 
the  absence  of  a  surgeon's  needle  and  silk,  a 
wound  may  be  temporarily  brought  together 
with  heavy  cotton  thread  and  a  heavy  sewing 
needle  secured  from  the  housewife. 


FISTULA 
AND   POLL 
EVIL 


Fistula  and  the  poll-evil  are  the  same  thing, 
only  in  different  places  on  the  animal.  The 
treatment  of  this  condition  should  always  be  left 
to  a  qualified  veterinarian  if  possible.  The  poll- 


372  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

evil  is  more  difficult  to  cure  than  the  fistulous 
withers  or  a  fistula  almost  anywhere  else  on  the 
body. 

Remember  this,  that  the  secret  of  success  is 
not  in  the  reckless  use  of  the  knife  or  the  injec- 
tion of  any  one  remedy  that  is  specially  effica- 
cious, and  it  is  only  evidence  of  ignorance  and  a 
relic  of  the  superstition  of  primitive  man  to  rec- 
ommend one  particular  remedy,  as  a  cure-all  for 
such  conditions.  The  great  secret  of  success, 
more  than  any  other,  is,  no  doubt,  the  securing 
of  drainage  from  the  bottom  of  the  fistula  all  the 
time.  This  can  be  done  by  a  large  incision  or 
by  the  use  of  setons. 

The  fistula  must  be  faithfully  attended  if 
you  wish  to  succeed.  The  farmer  and  stockman, 
even  if  he  knows  just  how  to  handle  these  cases, 
usually  gets  discouraged  and  neglects  them  be- 
fore enough  time  is  given  and  failure  is  the  re- 
sult. 


SPAVIN,  The  farmer  should  remember  that  as  long  as 

AND^SPLHTTS  ^ie  breeds  animals  with  these  troubles,  just  so 
long  will  he  have  colts  predisposed  to  such  con- 
ditions. 

Spavin,  ringbone  and  splints  are  the  same 
thing,  only  found  in  different  parts  of  the  ani- 
mal. They  are  incurable.  Spavin  and  ring- 
bone depreciate  the  animal  about  ninety  per 
cent.  The  splint,  in  not  being  connected  with 
the  joint,  usually  causes  only  temporary  lame- 


AKID    AGRICULTURE.  373 

ness.  Blisters  and  other  irritants  are  of  benefit 
only  as  they  hasten  the  process  of  bone  forma- 
tion. 

THE  TEETH  Next  to  the  feet,  there  is  no  one  thing  of  so 

much  importance  to  take  into  account  in  the  buy- 
ing of  a  horse,  as  well  as  in  his  care,  as  the 
teeth.  Remember,  that  the  horse's  food  is  not 
cooked,  nor  is  it  prepared  for  digestion.  His 
grist  mill  must  be  in  perfect  order ;  otherwise,  he 
will  not  thrive,  no  matter  how  much  grain  you 
feed  him.  The  teeth  of  most  horses  are  inade- 
quate. The  teeth  of  the  ordinary  horse  at  fifteen 
years  are  found  to  be  uneven,  or  decayed — in 
such  condition  that  the  horse  is  hard  to  keep  in 
his  usual  condition  and  flesh.  Whenever  you  see 
a  horse  twenty-five  years  old  still  at  work  and  in 
good  condition  you  will  find  that  nature  has 
given  him  a  good  set  of  teeth.  In  buying  horses 
it  is  always  well  to  look  at  the  teeth  and  take 
them  into  serious  consideration  before  giving 
up  your  money.  Two  or  three  hours  spent  in 
smoothing  down  the  teeth  of  a  horse  once  a  year 
will  often  save  many  dollars  in  the  price  of  the 
feed. 


Of   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

CF 


Part  VII. 


HOME  BUILDING. 

And  noic  wc'cc  reached  the  final  stage 

Of  entering  our  heritage. 

On  plateau,  plain  or  mountain  slope 

We'll  build  a  home  with  faith  and  hope. 

We're  here  to  stay,  let  fall  what  may 

And  building  for  a  future  day 

\\~h-n  heaven  icithin  trill  still  all  fears, 

When  life  shall  ripen  with  the  happy  years. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


.1  TINTS  ox  SELECTING  A  WKSTERX  FARM. 

Many  think  they  know  much  because  they  were 
"brought  up"  on  a  farm.  Perhaps  it  was  not  a  western 
farm.  One  who  has  merely  learned  to  milk  a  cow  may 
make  mistakes  in  hitching1  up  a  horse. 

GENERAL  The  newcomer  who  would  build  a  home  in 

^e  West  should  remember  that  he  is  now  meet- 
ing with  conditions  about  which  he  knows  noth- 
ing. So  far  as  he  understands  the  principles 
which  underlie  the  science  and  practice  of  agri- 
culture hi<  education  will  be  useful.  What  he 
may  know  about  local  practice  and  the  experi- 
ence which  fixes  his  method  of  judging  that  some 
fact  must  be  true  here,  because  certain  relation- 
ships make  it  true  where  he  was  raised,  should 
be  entirely  forgotten  and  laid  aside.  The  West 
establishes  new  relationships  and  new  facts 
which  are  seldom  what  they  appear  to  be. 

The  "tenderfoot"  who  would  secure  a  farm 
in  the  arid  region  should  have  disinterested  and 
expert  advice  if  he  has  to  pay  for  it.  ~Not  all 
land  agents  are  the  get-rich-quick  kind.  Those 
that  are  reliable  act  upon  the  realization  that 
the  success  of  the  man  to  whom  they  sell  land  is 
of  much  importance  to  thorn.  Such  men  know 
the  first  principle  of  all  successful  business,  that 
fraud  profits  them  nothing  in  the  end.  The 


378 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


DISTANCE 
FROM 
RAILROAD 
TRANSPOR- 
TATION 


man  who  would  buy  land  should  select  that  kind 
of  an  agent. 

The  arid  West  is  a  big  country.  It  is  a  land 
of  grand  and  magnificent  distances.  The  arid 
rancher  thinks  nothing  of  traveling  fifty  miles 
one  day  to  attend  a  dance  given  by  a  neighbor 
and  go  back  home  again  the  next  day.  The  cli- 
mate, the  roads,  the  horses,  make  fifty  or  seven- 
ty-five miles  a  day  merely  pleasure  excursions. 
The  man  who  is  going  to  locate  a  farm,  however, 
will  give  this  matter  of  distance  his  earnest  at- 
tention. If  he  is  going  to  raise  cattle,  horses,  or 
sheep,  and  can  walk  all  he  produces  to  market, 
the  distance  from  a  railroad  is  of  less  importance 
than  securing  conditions  of  ranch  and  range  most 
suitable  to  his  stock.  The  farmer  who  would 
raise  grains  for  market  or  who  produces  stock 
feeds,  and  makes  the  feeding  industry  the  main 
part  of  his  operations,  should  not  ordinarily 
locate  more  than  ten  or  twrenty  miles  from  a  ship- 
ping point.  The  pure  farmer  who  raises  sugar 
beets,  potatoes  or  fruits,  will  generally  find  it  un- 
profitable to  haul  his  products  in  wagons  more 
than  four  or  five  miles. 


WATER 
SUPPLY 


The  nomadic  sheepherder  and  his  flock  will 
thrive  through  the  winter  on  waterless  deserts, 
if  there  is  even  a  limited  snow  supply.  The 
home  builder  must  have  water.  The  rainfall  is 
not  sufficient  in  amount  or  constant  enough 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  379 

in  supply  to  enable  the  settler  to  cateh  water 
from  the  roofs  of  his  buildings  for  storage 
in  barrels  or  cisterns.  He  must  depend  on  run- 
ning streams  or  underground  supply.  If  range 
or  pasture  is  secured,  a  constant  and  sufficient 
supply  of  stock  Avater  must  be  provided.  The 
man  who  buys  an  irrigated  farm  should  investi- 
gate the  supply  for  this  purpose  and  his  right 
and  title  to  use  that  supply.  The  dry  farmer 
will  also  be  concerned  with  his  soil  reservoir  and 
the  possibility  of  practical  conservation. 

EXPOSURE  There  are  no  sections  of  the  West,  where 

domestic  water  can  be  secured,  that  are  not  in- 
habitable. There  are  vast  differences,  however, 
in  exposure  and  its  effect  on  the  kind  of  crops 
raised  or  the  general  comfort  of  man  and  beast. 
Protection  from  winds,  from  storms,  from  snow 
drifts,  either  by  natural  lay  of  the  land  in  rela- 
tion to  the  force  and  direction  from  which  storms 
come,  or  by  artificial  wind  breaks,  should  be 
taken  into  consideration.  If  there  is  no  air 
drainage,  late  and  early  frosts  may  be  annoying. 
If  there  is  not  good  soil  drainage,  there  may  be 
accumulation  of  alkali  in  irrigated  districts. 
The  influence  of  mountain  ranges  is  marked  and 
usually  nearness  to  the  mountains  or  hills 
secures  most  favorable  climatic  conditions. 
Xever  put  the  house  or  stable  in  the  bottom  of  a 
dry  gulch.  The  agency  which  formed  these 
gulches  may  simply  be  sleeping  for  the  time  and 


380  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

the  time  may  be  long  enough  so  the  place  has  no 
appearance  of  a  water-course.  A  water  spout  or 
"sudden  melting  of  snow  may  show  you  how  the 
place  happened  to  be  there.  Too  often  men 
ignore  both  climatology  and  the  force  of  gravi- 
tation. 

A  STOCK  Distance  from  market  is  a  secondary  consid- 

eration. There  must  be  water  for  stock  and 
man.  Take  into  consideration  the  character  of 
the  range.  Is  there  range  enough  ?  Is  there 
summer  and  winter  range  so  stock  may  alternate 
and  give  each  section  of  grass  an  occasional  rest  ? 
What  is  the  character  of  the  forage  ?  Is  there 
grass  for  cattle  and  horses  or  a  variety  of  browse 
for  sheep  ?  Are  there  areas  on  this  range  cov- 
ered with  poison  weeds  which  cannot  be  avoided 
at  seasons  of  the  year  when  running  stock  on 
them  would  occasion  loss  ?  Are  there  forest 
reservations,  where  pasture  can  be  secured  a  part 
of  the  year  ?  Are  there  school  or  other  state 
lands  that  can  be  leased  ?  Is  the  range  an  open 
one  and  already  fully  occupied  ? 

Take  into  consideration  the  arable  land. 
Are  there  native  meadows  which  can  be  irrigated 
for  the  production  of  winter  feed?  Are  there 
areas  where  more  concentrated  stock  foods,  like 
grains,  alfalfa,  peas  and  root-crops  can  be  raised 
in  sufficient  amount  ? 

In  looking  over  all  the  advantages  do  not  fail 
to  consider  the  "drawbacks."  There  may  be  im- 


ARID    AGRICULTUIJK.  381 

portant  advantage  in  high  altitude;  in  growth 
and  quality  of  grass  and  forage ;  and  in  climate 
favorable  to  the  feeding  of  stock.  Range  stock 
from  some  of  these  high  mountain  or  plateau 
ranches  brings  full  price  of  corn-fed  meat.  If  a 
place  is  suitable  to  a  certain  kind  of  stock  do  not 
try  to  force  profits  out  of  raising  something  for 
which  it  is  not  so  well  suited.  What  are  the  con- 
ditions of  climate  ?  There  may  be  blizzards  or 
cold,  wet  spring  storms,  which  must  be  prepared 
against.  Other  things  may  suggest  themselves 
to  the  man  Avho  wants  a  stock  ranch.  Many  of 
his  considerations  will  be  those  of  personal  taste, 
and  there  is  much  opportunity  in  the  arid  re- 
gion for  men  to  control  their  conditions  and 
build  without  interference  of  natural  forces. 

A  DRY  There  are  great  dry  farms  in  parts  of  the 

West  where  grain  raising  is  the  principal  indus- 
try. Such  products  may  be  hauled  some  dis- 
tance to  market  and  if  stock  raising  is  combined 
with  crop  production,  nearness  to  town  may  not 
be  a  very  important  consideration.  In  selecting 
a  dry  farm,  give  weighty  consideration  to  three 
things.  First,  can  good  domestic  water  be  had  ? 
Second,  is  the  rainfall  (including  snow)  suffi- 
cient for  profitable  crop  growing  ?  Third,  is  the 
soil  such  that  this  moisture  can  be  successfully 
stored  for  the  use  of  the  crop  and  will  this  soil 
be  productive. 


382  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

The  new  dry  farmer  must  get  much  of  his 
information  from  the  experience  of  those  who 
have  been  growing  crops.  He  need  not  neces- 
sarily listen  to  the  "oldest  inhabitant/'  Unless 
the  local  man  has  honestly  tried  out  an  advanced 
method,rhe  is  unacquainted  with  the  possibilities 
of  his  own  country  and  may  be  loaded  up  with 
prejudice.  Some  of  the  Western  States  have  es- 
tablished dry  farm  demonstrations  and  all  of 
them  have  Government  Experiment  Stations. 
From  either  of  these  sources  the  newcomer  may 
obtain  reliable  information  of  methods  and  pos- 
sibilities in  any  particular  region  so  far  as  they 
are  known.  There  are  considerable  areas  in  the 
West  which  are  suitable  for  dry  farming  that 
are  already  in  private  ownership,  but  undevel- 
oped. Alternate  sections  of  railroad  lands  with- 
in the  land  grants  have  largely  been  purchased 
by  stockmen  for  range  purposes.  Some  of  the 
government  land  in  these  grants  and  elsewhere 
have  become  titled  lands  under  the  several  land 
laws.  Other  areas  are  still  open  for  entry  under 
the  homestead  acts.  Any  man  who  wishes  to 
build  a  dry  farm  home,  should  secure  not  less 
than  a  half  section  and  combining  more  land 
than  this  with  his  stock  industry  will  bring 
greater  prosperity.  Economic  conditions  call 
for  large  dry  farms  as  insistently  as  they  de- 
mand small  irrigated  farms. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


383 


SELECTING 
AN 

IRRIGATED 
FARM 


Purchasers  of  western  homes  will  find  two 
conditions  of  irrigated  farms.  First,  those 
which  have  been  irrigated  and  developed.  Sec- 
ond, raw  lands  for  the  reclamation  of  which  irri- 
gation works  have  been  or  are  being  constructed. 
No  advice  is  needed  by  the  man  wrho  is  going  to 
buy  a  developed  farm,  save  the  general  advice 
not  to  buy  more  than  he  can  work  and  manage 
with  the  greatest  profit,  and  to  understand  the 
nature  of  his  water  right. 

To  the  farmer  who  would  acquire  title  to  new 
land  under  private  ditches,  Carey  Act  projects 
or  Government  reclamation  enterprises,  much 
more  should  be  said  than  the  limitations  of  a 
brief  chapter  permit. 

The  most  happy,  prosperous  and  quickly  de- 
veloped homes  may  be,  and  are,  built  in  the  arid 
region  by  and  thru  the  use  of  our  perennial 
water  supply.  Since  the  early  days  water  has 
so  increased  in  value  that  permanent  water 
rights  are  often  cheap  at  thirty  dollars  to  fifty 
dollars  per  acre.  One  who  pays  these  prices  for 
his  water  rights  should  use  judgment  in  the 
selection  of  the  land.  There  are  few  poor  lands 
and  practically  none  which  will  not  produce 
crops.  Some  are  far  more  suitable  than  others 
for  certain  intensive  culture  crops.  There  are 
]><>r;>ro  soils,  sugar  beet  soils,  grain  soils  and  fruit 
soils. 


384 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


GEOPHYTICS 
—OR  CHAR- 
ACTER OF 

son;  TOLD 

BY   PLANTS 


For  many  years  the  writer  has  seriously 
thought  of  calling  attention  to  a  new  science  for 
the  West  and  calling  it  by  some  mysterious  word 
not  found  in  the  dictionaries.  This  science 
would  classify  different  characters  of  soils  by  the 
kind  of  native  vegetation  they  produce  and  also 
according  to  the  classes  of  crops  which  could  be 
best  grown  on  them.  For  example,  as  we  indi- 
cate elsewhere,  scientists  are  now  finding  out 
that  there  are  potato  soils  in  the  West  and  soils 
that  are  not  potato  soils.  Again,  experienced 
western  farmers  know  at  once  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  native  plants  growing  on  a  soil 
whether  that  soil  would  be  suitable  when  re- 
claimed for  crop  production.  We  show  that  pov- 
erty weed  grows  on  a  soil  without  aeration  and 
tilth.  It  is  a  common  expression  that  soils 
which  will  grow  "black  sage"  are  good  soils — 
soils  that  grow  gramma  grass  and  cactus  are 
easy  soils  to  work — soils  that  grow  grease-wood 
are  strong  soils,  but  sometimes  difficult  to  bring 
into  high  production.  Certain  plants,  like  drop 
seed  grass,  salt  grass,  salt  sages  and  others  grow 
on  soils  rich  in  alkali  salts  and  the  kind  of  plants 
indicate  the  character  of  the  alkali.  This  is  true 
in  an  important  and  highly  practical  way  and 
may  be  made  use  of  by  the  man  who  is  selecting 
land  for  a  farm.  The  underlying  principles  of 
this  science  have  not  been  worked  out  but  its  ap- 
plication is  apparent  and  useful. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


385 


WATER 
SUPPLY   AND 
WATER 
BIGHTS 


THE   LAY   OF 
THE    LAND 


The  water  supply  in  most  sections  of  the  arid 
region  is  limited.  There  is  more  land  than 
there  is  water.  The  water  is  the  valuable  asset 
—the  land  is  practically  thrown  in.  There  are 
different  laws  in  the  different  arid  States  govern- 
ing the  appropriation  and  use  of  water.  The 
new  settler  should  become  familiar  with  these 
hi\\s.  He  should  satisfy  himself  in  regard  to 
the  water  available  for  his  use  and  know  that  he 
has  a  right  to  that  use  which  will  be  protected. 
The  laws  in  some  States  provide  that  the  waters 
of  the  State  belong  to  the  State ;  that  the  water 
belongs  to  the  land  for  which  a  decree  of  appro- 
priation is  granted ;  that  this  water  can  only  be 
used  on  this  particular  land,  and  that  there  shall 
be  no  monopoly  of  or  bartering  and  speculation 
in  water  for  irrigation.  The  principle  of  right 
by  prior  appropriation  is  maintained  and  the 
new  home  builder  should  be  acquainted  with  the 
significance  of  these  laws. 

Some  lands  are  so  rough  or  rolling,  or  steep, 
or  flat,  or  hard,  or  leaky,  that  they  can  never  be 
profitably  irrigated.  Here,  as  under  dry  farm- 
ing, the  manner  in  which  the  soil  will  act  toward 
water  is  important,  Some  soils  break  up  into  a 
loose  dust  that  will  be  carried  away  by  water; 
others  may  dissolve  like  sugar  or  salt  and  others 
may  swell  up  or  sink.  Of  course  these  soils  are 
rare  and  seldom  occur  over  any  extent  of  surface, 
but  the  discriminating  buyer  will  try  to  know 

13 


386  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

what  per  cent  of  his  soil  is  good  or  bad.  Soils 
that  have  been  formed  by  rivers  that  have 
washed  the  materials  long  distances,  are  apt  to  be 
spotted.  There  may  be  gravel  beds,  sand  beds, 
clay  banks  or  river  silt.  The  winds  may  have 
shifted  the  sands  into  dunes.  Usually  spotted- 
ness  in  new  soils  will  show  plainly  in  spotted 
crops  for  a  year  or  more,  but  after  a  few  seasons 
of  cultivation  they  become  tamed  alike  and  the 
crop  will  be  even  in  stand,  growth  and  time  of 
maturing.  Land  and  water  are  so  valuable  that, 
it  often  pays  to  level  down  small  hills  and  smooth 
up  comparatively  rough  land  to  put  it  in  condi- 
tion for  irrigation. 

The  points  we  have  suggested  in  regard  to 
soil  drainage  and  air  drainage,  are  important  in 
selecting  an  irrigated  farm.  Where  dairying  or 
special  crop  farming  is  practiced,  the  land 
should  be  practically  near  a  town  or  station. 

SUPPLE-  By  supplemental  farming  we  mean  the  com- 

bination  of  dry  f  armirfg  with  the  irrigated  ranch, 
or  the  use  of  small  or  irregular  water  supply  for 
irrigating  a  garden  or  other  portion  of  a  dry 
farm.  There  are  many  locations  where  a  good 
home  could  be  built  and  where  neither  the  irriga- 
tion farming  or  the  dry  farming  would  be  suc- 
cessful alone.  There  are  many  others  where 
such  combinations  would  complete  the  system 
and  be  highly  profitable.  This  system  has  not 
been  given  the  notice  it  deserves.  We  believe  it 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  387 

a  most  important  consideration.  The  man  who 
would  select  this  kind  of  farm  will  make  the 
most  of  his  dry  farm  soil  or  of  his  opportunities 
to  irrigate  by  the  pumping  of  water,  or  catching 
flood  water  in  small  reservoirs  or  by  winter  irri- 
gation. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


CONSIDERA- 
TIONS  OP 
CASH 

CAPITAL 
AT   HAND 


STARTING  A  WESTERN  FARM  HOME. 

A  home  is  not  builclecl  in  a  day.  It  takes  years  and 
decades  for  the  fruition  of  hope  and  to  establish  heart 
and  soul  associations  between  men  and  materials. 

Few  men  who  attempt  to  build  a  home  are 
supplied  with  enough  capital.  Whether  a  man 
without  any  capital  will  succeed  depends  en- 
tirely on  personal  qualifications.  One  man  with 
nothing,  under  most  trying  circumstances,  will 
accumulate  an  independent  fortune.  Another 
man  with  apparently  sufficient  money,  will 
starve  out  and  move  on.  It  is  a  question  of  tem- 
perament and  management. 

The  average  man  has  a  limited  bank  account. 
He  must  husband  and  use  it  in  accordance  with 
natural  principles  of  economy.  We  deplore 
stinginess.  Penuriousness  runs  into  error  and 
often  causes  loss  which  defeats  itself,  while  a 
generous  liberality  of  heart  and  soul,  balanced 
i»y  intelligent  management,  results  in  accumula- 
tion and  happiness.  It  may  not  be  wise  to  sug- 
gest that  a  man  should  not  attempt  to  secure  a 
home  unless  he  has  sufficient  cash.  If  he  has  a 
family  he  certainly  should  have  enough  means 
either  in  money  or  credit  to  make  his  first  pay- 
ments, secure  his  necessary  equipment  and  pro- 
vide living  two  or  three  years  before  he  can  be 


390  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

certain  that  the  land  will  sustain  him.  The 
active  development  now  going  on  in  the  West 
insures  that  an  industrious  man  can  always  find 
something  to  do  at  high  wages,  and  many  work 
out  one-half  the  year,  in  order  to  get  means  to 
develop  their  homes  the  other  half  year.  As  a 
general  rule  a  man  should  not  attempt  more  than 
forty  acres  to  eighty  acres  under  irrigation. 
More  money  is  made  by  proper  intensive  culti- 
vation on  the  small  farm  unit  under  irrigation. 
~No  return  should  be  expected  from  the  land  the 
first  year  outside  of  garden  or  feed  for  home  use, 
and  maintenance  of  cow  and  work  animals.  A 
prevalent  fault  with  most  men  who  become  en- 
thusiastic over  a  new  country  is  an  uncontroll- 
able desire  to  own  all  of  it. 

~  The  new  farmer  should  be  willing  to  pioneer 

BEGINNING 

MAKES  FOR       for  a  while.     He  should    rough    it    and    build 
IMANENCE  ^  first  put  as  small  outlay  as  possible 


in  dead  stock  —  those  things  which  will  give  no 
cash  return  from  use  of  capital  employed.  Make 
the  live  stock  part  of  the  investment  as  good  and 
permanent  as  possible.  By  "live  stock"  we  mean 
all  those  things  which  will  give  returns,  whether 
they  be  pigs,  chickens,  soil  culture  or  crops.  It  is 
stock  in  trade.  Buildings  for  first  occupancy 
of  man  or  animals  may  be  temporary  and  cheap. 
In  the  West  none  need  shun  the  outdoors.  Night 
air  is  as  healthy  as  day  air  —  there  is  no  danger 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


391 


in  drafts — there  is  no  swamp  miasma  or  disease- 
breeding  mosquito  from  below  and  compara- 
tively little  wet  from  above.  However,  personal 
comfort  should  never  be  neglected.  It  is  your 
main  stock  in  trade — the  chief  element  of  your 
success.  First  make  yourself  and  family  com- 
fortable. Then  let  your  income  improve  your 
improvements. 


FAMILY 

COMFORT 

FIRST 


The  family  comfort  depends  mainly  on  three 
things — a  warm  house,  though  it  be  small,  a 
good  and  convenient  water  supply,  comfortable 
and  sanitary  convenience  for  waste — house,  well, 
closet. 


THE    TENT 
HOUSE 


It  is  possible  to  get  along  with  considerable 
comfort  the  first  season  in  well  constructed  tent- 
houses.  A  good  tent,  stretched  over  a  frame 
work,  with  floor  inside  and  banked  up  outside 
with  soil,  will  be  found  habitable.  A  house 
tent,  however,  should  have  a  fly  over  the  top, 
and  where  the  winters  are  cold  or  windy,  a 
double  wall  will  pay. 


THE  DUGOUT  Where  there  is  good  drainage  or  a  side  hill  is 
available,  a  dugout  may  be  constructed  which 
will  do  for  temporary  occupancy.  Such  dugout 
may  be  covered  over  the  top  with  timbers,  boards, 
building  paper  or  tar  paper,  and  four  or  five 
inches  of  soil.  The  average  American  will  not 


392 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


THE  SOD 
HOUSE 


take  kindly  to  this  idea.  Many  have  to  learn 
that  there  is  no  disgrace  in  frugal  beginnings 
for  a  high  and  honest  purpose. 

In  many  places  on  the  Western  plains,  it  is 
possible  to  cut  good  heavy  sods  to  use  for  build- 


Plate  LIV.     These  Sod  Houses  Are  Comfortable. 


ing  material.  Such  sod  should  be  cut  a  foot  or 
more  wide,  from  one  to  three  feet  long,  and  as 
thick  as  the  grass  roots  will  hold  the  soil  to- 
gether. They  may  be  laid  up  like  bricks.  The 
roof  should  be  made  with  generous  eaves  which 
will  carry  the  moisture  far  enough  over  so  it  will 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


393 


ADOBE 
HOUSE 


LOG  HOUSES 


not  drain  down  the  sides  and  wash  away  the 
walls. 

Clay  soils  may  often  be  found  which  will 
mix  with  straw,  brush,  gravel  or  other  materials 
and  can  be  used  to  construct  a  wall  by  pouring 
muck  into  molds.  The  mold  may  be  simply  a 
plank  placed  on  each  side,  the  mixed  muck  poured 
and  pounded  in  between,  and  the  planks  raised 
as  the  wall  is  builded.  The  same  kind  of  roof 
as  that  used  for  sod  houses  should  be  put  on. 
Houses  built  in  this  way  are  warm  and  in  our 
dry  climate  last  for  many  years.  A  good  tight 
roof  can  be  made  by  laying  timber  across  the 
walls  and  bending  boards  over  them  to  make  a 
curved  roof,  which  need  not  be  steep.  Over 
these  boards  place  a  tough  fibrous  building  pa- 
per or  tar  paper  and  then  lay  on  four  to  six 
inches  of  soil. 

Where  timber  is  available  or  if  one  can  reach 
the  Timber  Reserve  and  use  the  dead  trees,  log 
buildings  can  be  constructed  with  little  money 
outlay.  Buildings  of  logs  are  very  comfortable 
if  properly  made  and  chinked.  Where  sawed 
timbers  can  be  obtained  they  make  one  of  the 
easiest  constructed  and  best  house  walls.  We  do 
not  need  to  suggest  methods  of  building  with 
lumber,  for  where  lumber  can  be  obtained,  every 
man  will  be  able  to  work  out  his  own  building 
problem. 


394  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

.DOMESTIC  The  second  of  our  three  essential  elements 

of  comfort  is  water.  The  first  thing  the  new 
farmer  should  do  is  to  develop  his  water-supply. 
If  he  has  any  money  left,  it  may  be  put  into 
buildings  and  other  things.  Too  many  new 
farmers  leave  this  until  the  last,  and  haul  water 
so  long  that  they  use  up  more  valuable  effort  and 
time,  many  times  over,  than  the  first  cost  of  a 
home  supply  would  amount  to.  No  man  should 
begin  to  haul  water  if  he  can  avoid  it.  Water  is 
a  necessity  to  drink  and  an  occasional  rotation  of 
the  water  bath  with  the  dust  bath,  in  season,  is 
not  altogether  a  luxury.  Over  most  of  the  arid 
region  well  water  can  be  obtained.  In  many 
sections  there  are  artesian  basins,  and  wherever 
a  deep  well  will  secure  a  supply  of  water  which 
is  uncontaminated  with  surface  drainage  or  with 
alkali,  deep  wells  should  be  bored.  Some  scheme 
for  power  pumping  is  generally  an  economy  on 
the  farm.  In  much  of  the  arid  region  there  is 
sufficient  Avind  movement  to  make  windmills 
practicable.  In  other  places  the  gasoline  or  a 
hot-air  engine  is  more  advisable.  It  requires  a 
comparatively  small  outlay  to  establish  a  pump 
and  power.  Either  a  tank  above  ground  or  a 
pressure  tank  underneath  should  be  installed  to 
furnish  a  supply  of  running  water,  both  in  the 
barn  yard  and  in  the  house.  With  a  pressure 
tank  the  farmer  can  have  his  hot  and  coldwater 
and  bath  in  the  house,,  a  sprinkler  on  the  lawn, 
and  a  supply  of  water  on  tap  wherever  needed. 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  395 

SANITARY  Our  third  element  of  comfort  is  the  sanitary 

disposal  of  waste.  The  farm  house  should  have 
its  drain  from  the  kitchen  and  a  cesspool,  if 
there  is  no  other  means  of  disposal  of  waste 
water.  On  the  dry  farm  do  not  waste  the  waste 
water.  Use  it  on  the  garden.  Every  farm 
house  may  have  a  sanitary  closet.  If  water 
pressure  is  not  available  and  the  water  closet  can 
not  be  installed,  which  is  usually  the  case  on  new 
farms,  the  soil  closet  may  take  its  place.  For 
some  reasons  the  soil  closet  is  the  most  econom- 
ical and  best.  There  is  no  greater  deodorant 
and  disinfectant  than  dry  soil,  and  in  parts  of 
Europe  soil  closets  are  used  in  the  best  houses. 
The  soil  closet  enables  the  farmer  to  save  the  last 
element  of  fertility  which  is  usually  wasted.  His 
night  soil  can  be  placed  in  the  garden  or  where 
it  will  do  the  most  good.  The  soil  closet  may 
be  built  in  the  form  of  the  ordinary  privy,  mak- 
ing a  box  in  the  shape  of  a  drawrer  which  slides 
underneath  the  seat.  This  box  should  be  placed 
on  two-by-four  runners  with  a  clevis  attached,  so 
a  horse  can  haul  it  away,  to  be  dumped.  The 
seat  above  should  be  on  a  hinge  so  that  it  may 
be  lifted.  A  box  of  soil  should  be  kept  at  hand 
and  plenty  of  it  used  every  day.  Such  closets 
are  free  from  smell  and  from  disease  germs, 
clean  and  comfortable.  They  may  be  placed 
near  so  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  make  long 
journeys  through  storm  and  mud.  They  should 
be  tightly  enclosed  so  they  will  be  comfortable. 


396 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


OTHER 

BUILDINGS- 
BARNS 


In  the  West  it  is  not  so  necessary  to  house 
stock  in  the  winter  as  it  is  in  the  more  humid 
sections.  A  barn  or  stable  may  simply  be  made 
convenient  for  the  handling  and  feeding  of 
stock.  A  cheap,  warm,  and  efficient  barn  may 
be  made  out  of  baled  straw.  The  roof  should 
be  supported  on  posts  and  may  be  made  of  tim- 
bers which  will  support  a  quantity  of  loose  straw 
or  of  shingles  or  galvanized  iron.  New  farmers 
often  build  their  barns  by  setting  posts  and 
stretching  wire  on  both  sides,  filling  in  between 
with  loose  straw.  In  many  places  bailing  wire 
is  abundant,  and  the  only  cost  of  such  buildings 
is  the  work  of  constructing  them. 


POULTRY 
HOUSE 


The  poultry  house  should  be  so  built  that  the 
chickens  or  turkeys  can  be  inclosed  at  night  to 
save  them  from  coyotes  and  other  animals.  It  is 
important  to  have  the  poultry  house  warm  in 
winter.  It  may  be  banked  with  straw  or  soil. 
Usually  there  is  no  more  profitable  thing  on  the 
farm  than  winter-laying  hens. 


HOG  HOUSE  Every  farm  should  have  its  pig-pen  and  pig 

shelter.  One  of  the  cheapest  and  best  pig  shel- 
ters is  a  board  house,  made  in  the  form  of  a  let- 
ter A.  It  is  constructed  with  sixteen-foot  boards, 
cut  in  two,  slanted  from  the  ground  to  the  peak, 
making  a  house  eight  feet  square  on  the  ground 
and  as  high  as  eight-foot  boards  slanted  in  this 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


397 


way  will  reach.  The  ends  are  covered,  with  the 
exception  of  a  door,  which  may  be  left  open. 
The  cracks  should  be  battened  and  a  small  open- 
ing for  ventilation  left  near  the  peak  of  roof  on 
the  side  opposite  the  door.  This  is  a  good  house 


Plate  LV.     The  "A"   Hog  House. 

By  Permission  Colo.  Agrl.  College. 

for  brood  sows,  as  the  slanting  roof  will  give 
room  for  young  pigs  and  prevent  the  mother 
from  lying  on  and  killing  them.  The  house 
may  be  moved  to  the  alfalfa  pasture  in  the  spring 
or  summer  and  placed  in  the  barnyard  in  winter. 
To  build  this  pig  house  requires  one  hundred 


398 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


GRANARY 


ROOT 

CELLAR 


FENCING 
THE   FARM 


and  eighty  feet  of  sixteen-foot  boards,  two  two- 
by-fours  sixteen  feet  long,  about  eighteen  battens 
sixteen  feet  long,  a  total  of  three  hundred  square 
feet  of  lumber  and  ten  cents'  worth  of  nails. 

Nearly  every  farmer  will  need  a  granary  and 
a  root  cellar  for  storing  crops.  It  is  necessary 
to  secure  lumber  for  building  the  granary.  AVe 
would  merely  suggest  that  it  is  better  to  store 
grain  in  open  bins  than  in  sacks,  because  there  is 
less  damage  from  mice  or  chipmunks. 

The  root  cellar  may  be  built  entirely  under 
ground  or  on  top  of  the  ground.  Where  potatoes 
are  raised  in  quantity  large  root  cellars  should 
usually  be  built  on  top  of  the  ground  with  double 
doors  at  each  end,  and  a  driveway  so  a  wagon 
can  be  driven  through.  The  roof  of  the  root 
cellar  may  be  of  timbers,  brush,  straw,  and  dirt, 
from  one  to  two  feet  of  covering  being  required 
in  the  ^Northern  region  to  keep  out  the  winter 
frost.  There  should  always  be  one  or  more  ven- 
tilators in  the  roof;  the  double  doors  should  be 
made  as  tight  as  possible.  It  may  be  necessary 
to  watch  the  root  cellar  every  day  in  cold 
weather.  Have  a  thermometer  and  do  not  let 
things  freeze  if  you  find  it  necessary  to  carry  in 
hot  ashes  or  build  a  fire. 

The  new  farmer  usually  makes  costly  mis- 
takes in  his  fencing.  A  good  fence  is  good  econ- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  •          399 

omj.  The  time  is  coming  when  a  ranch  or  farm 
will  not  be  considered  one  unless  fenced  with 
woven  wire,  or  something  else  equally  as  good. 
Barbed  wire  is  the  material  usually  used.  ^X<»t 
less  than  three  or  four  strands  of  barbed  wire 
should  be  used.  A  poor  fence  teaches  stock  to 
be  breachy,  and  causes  loss  by  the  stock  getting 
tangled  in  it  and  being  killed  or  injured  with 
wire  cuts.  One  of  the  most  important  problems 
met  with  in  the  arid  region  is  the  securing  of 
suitable  fence  posts.  Over  much  of  the  region 
pitch  pine,  white  pine,  cedar,  cottonwood,  or 
willow  posts  may  be  secured.  Posts  made  of  iron 
pipe  set  in  cement  are  sometimes  used.  Cement 
posts  are  now  being  made,  but  they  are  usually 
too  expensive  for  the  new-comer.  A  good  re- 
inforced cement  post  costs  from  thirty  to  fifty 
cents. 

TREATMENT  A>  posts  of  some  kind  of  timber  are  ordina- 

rily used,  it  will  be  found  advisable  to  treat  them 
to  increase  their  length  of  life.  An  ordinary, 
dry  cottonwood  or  spruce  post  placed  in  the 
ground  will  rot  off  in  two  years.  Posts  made  of 
mountain  spruce  are  very  short-lived.  Pitch- 
pine  or  cedar  posts  will  last  from  ten  to  fifteen 
years  when  set  in  the  ground.  Many  ranchmen 
who  have  land  to  spare  build  buck  fences.  The 
bucks  are  made  by  setting  a  post  at  an  angle  of 
from  thirty  to  forty-five  degrees,  supporting 
them  with  one. or  two  sticks  used  as  props  set  in 


or  POSTS 


400  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

holes  bored  near  the  top  of  the  post.  Such  bucks 
of  pine  merely  rot  off  slightly  at  the  bottom 
where  they  come  in  contact  with -the  ground,  and 
get  about  four  or  five  inches  shorter  in  twenty 
years'  time. 

Many  methods  of  treating  fence  posts  have 
been  devised  and  recommended.  Most  of  these 
methods,  such  as  treating  with  creosote  or  corro- 
sive sublimate  require  the  use  of  large  tanks  and 
careful  attention  to  the  proper  recipes.  In  ex- 
periments carried  on  by  the  author  in  treating 
pitch  pine  posts,  he  found  that  the  life  of  the  post 
was  indefinitely  extended  by  the  following  treat- 
ment :  Paint  or  dip  the  lower  end  of  the  post  a 
little  higher  than  it  is  to  go  into  the  ground  with 
crude  petroleum.  Place  in  small  piles  of  half 
a  dozen  posts  and  burn  off  the  petroleum.  Do 
not  let  burn  too  long.  They  should  get  hot 
enough  to  force  the  oil  into  the  wood  and  pro- 
duce a  slight  blackening  on  the  outside.  Posts 
treated  in  this  way  seem  to  be  so  well  protected 
from  dry  rot  that  they  will  last  many  times  as 
long  as  untreated  posts.  The  treatment  costs 
but  a  few  cents  for  each  post,  and  saves  both  in 
cost  of  renewal  and  the  work  of  building  new 
fences. 

GATES  The  ordinary  barbed  wire  gate  is  an  abomi- 

nation and  an  expensive  nuisance  if  where  it 
must  be  used  several  times  a  day.  To  make  a 
good  gate  out  of  timber  and  swing  it  on  a  post 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  401 

will  cost  little  more  than  the  wire.  Automatic 
iron  gates  can  now  be  obtained.  The  best  ones 
are  those  Avhich  swing  and  are  operated  by  tog- 
gles worked  by  the  wheel  of  the  wagon.  Such 
gates  open  and  close  automatically,  save  the 
farmer  time,  prevent  runaways,  and  generally 
give  such  satisfaction  that  the  increased  first  cost 
is  not  regretted  if  a  man  has  means  enough  to  af- 
ford good  improvements. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


THE  HOME  GARDEX. 

The  man  who  has  always  lived  in  a  large  city  does 
not  know  what  wholesome  eating*  is.  Had  he  possession 
of  unlimited  wealth  he  could  not  buy  freshness. 


WHAT  THE  The  garden  is  the  small  piece  of  intensively 

GABD 
DOES 


cultivated  ground  which  no  home,  wherever  it 


may  be  located,  should  be  without.  This  garden 
may  be  a  tomato  can  growing  a  single  plant  or  it 
may  cover  an  acre.  It  may  be  for  beautifying 
a  place  by  raising  decorative  plants  or  it  may  be 
used  to  supply  the  principal  living  for  the  fam- 
ily. It  is  this  latter  kind  of  garden  that  fits  into 
the  necessary  economy  of  the  successful  farm. 
The  garden  supplies  genuine  food.  It  is  pure 
food.  ~No  other  food  can  take  the  place  of  or 
excel  fresh  garden  truck.  This  food,  raised  at 
home  by  the  application  of  a  little  time  and 
labor,  brings  more  happiness  and  thrift  per 
square  rod  than  the  rest  of  the  farm  does  per 
square  acre.  It  furnishes  sustenance  and  cheap- 
ens the  cost  of  living.  The  garden,  the  cow,  the 
hen  and  the  pig  are  home  economies  which  fur- 
nish a  living  unexcelled,  and  the  farmer  who 
husbands  his  resources  and  saves  money  in  these 
several  ways,  never  fails. 

It  has  been  the  gardeners  of  the  West  that 


404  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

have  demonstrated  our  larger  agricultural  pos- 
sibilities. Could  the  large  rangemen  have  pre- 
vented the  planting  of  gardens  they  could  have 
undisputed  possession  of  the  arid  region  forever. 
The  garden  displays  the  richness  of  the  soil, 
the  suitableness  of  the  climate,  the  results  of  in- 
tensive culture.  The  closer  study  given  plants 
and  their  relationships  in  the  garden  give  clearer 
insight  into  the  underlying  principles  of  soil  and 
plant  culture.  Its  educational  value  is  no  small 
part  of  the  profit  of  a  garden.  A  well-kept  gar- 
den gives  a  keen  and  lively  interest  in  plant  life 
and  in  the  advantages  of  the  new  country  to 
every  member  of  the  family,  and  may  be  shown 
with  pride  to  visiting  friends.  It  inspires  hope 
and  confidence  in  future  prosperity. 

HOW  TO  Plant  a.  wind-break  along  the  border  of  the 

GARDEN  garden,  generally  leaving  it  open  to  the  South 

to  receive  the  most  sun.  Thicken  the  wind- 
break with  Boxthorne  or  Honey  Locust  hedge. 
Put  in  a  row  or  two  of  apple  trees,  and  cherries, 
currants  and  gooseberries,  and  dwarf  mountain 
cherry.  These  things  are  hardy  and  stand 
drouth.  Fertilize  with  forty  to  sixty  loads  of 
manure  per  acre.  Use  sheep  manure  if  you  can 
get  it.  Disc  the  manure  into  top  soil  and  then 
plow  deep  and  harrow  until  the  best  possible 
seed  bed  is  obtained.  Do  this  even  if  the  garden 
is  only  a  few  rods  square.  Plant  all  garden 
stuff  in  rows  far  enough  apart  so  cultivation  may 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


405 


be  done  with  a  horse.  Small  plants  may  be  sown 
in  double  rows  with  two  feet  or  more  between 
for  horse  cultivation. 


THE    DRY 

FARM 

GARDEN 


WATER 
WHERE 

POSSIBLE 


The  best  results  will  be  obtained  where  the 
moisture  may  be  conserved  for  a  season  before 
planting,  but  do  not  wait  to  do  this.  Have  some 
kind  of  garden  the  first  year.  Plants  that  will 
stand  a  great  amount  of  drouth  are  Horseradish, 
Rhubarb,  Jerusalem  Artichoke,  Tansy,  Beans, 
Pop  Corn,  Sweet  Corn,  Potatoes,  Peas,  Summer 
and  .  Winter  Squash,  Pumpkin,  Asparagus, 
Winter  Onions,  Tomatoes,  Salsify,  Beets,  Car- 
rots, Parsnips,  Rutabegas.  These  have  been 
named  somewhat  in  the  order  of  their  drouth-re- 
sistance. The  only  suggestion  needed  here  is  to 
make  the  soil  rich,  not  filled  with  too  much  loose 
material,  which  will  cause  it  to  dry  out,  and  keep 
the  soil  cultivated  and  aerated  to  save  moisture, 
prevent  weeds  and  make  the  crops  grow.  Gen- 
eral directions  for  planting,  and  amount  of  seed 
are  given  on  seed  packets  and  in  garden  catalogs. 

In  a  press  bulletin  of  the  Colorado  Experi- 
ment Station,  J.  E.  Payne  gives  the  following- 
advice  to  dry  farmers:  "Plant  a  garden.  If 
you  have  no  well,  plant  a  small  plat  near  the 
house  and  water  it  with  the  waste  water.  Bury 
every  drop  of  waste  water  beside  some  vegetable 
by  making  a  furrow  beside  the  plants  and  after 
the  water  has  sunk  away  fill  the  furrow  with  dry 


406  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

dirt.  Old  tin  cans  sunk  in  the  ground  by  the 
side  of  hills  of  cucumbers  aid  in  watering  them 
economically.  Punch  holes  in  the  bottoms  of 
the  cans." 

"If  you  have  a  well,  plant  a  large  garden,  but 
plant  all  garden  stuff  in  rows  so  that  it  may  be 
cultivated  with  horse  power.  Use  the  water  with 
the  same  economy  that  you  would  if  using  only 
waste  water.  Never  flood  the  ground  purposely. 
If  any  should  be  flooded,  stir  it  thoroughly  as 
soon  as  it  is  dry  enough." 

"It  is  a  common  mistake  with  beginners  in 
irrigation  to  try  to  make  water  take  the  place  of 
cultivation.  The  result  is  failure.  Another 
common  mistake  is  to  plant  a  larger  area  than 
can  be  watered  from  the  well.  Better  begin  with 
only  a  few  square  rods  and  extend  the  area  as  ex- 
perience dictates. 

*  *  *  By  planting  the  following  seven 
varieties  of  sweet  corn  on  the  same  day — and 
often  near  the  last  of  May — I  have  had  roasting 
ears  from  July  26th  to  September  26th.  The 
varieties  were  Cory,  Black  Mexican,  Perry's 
Hybrid,  Stowell's  Evergreen,  Country  Gentle- 
man, Mammoth  Evergreen  and  Egyptian.  The 
large  varieties  may  be  dried  for  winter  use  or 
allowed  to  ripen  to  be  used  parched.  Parched 
sweet  corn  is  a  luxury,  but  one  which  is  in  the 
reach  of  the  poorest  settler.  White  Pearl  and 
Queen's  Golden  pop  corn  have  done  well  for  me, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  407 

and  my  family  have  had  many  meals  consisting 
of  whipped  cream  and  popcorn." 

'There  is  no  necessity  of  giving  detailed  in- 
structions for  irrigating  each  of  the  garden 
vegetables.  In  general,  furrow  irrigation  should 
be  practiced.  The  garden  plants  should  be  grown 
in  rows  wide  apart  and  watered  in  furrows  deep 
enough  so  the  top  of  the  rows  are  never  under 
wrater.  Quick  and  frequent  irrigations  followed 
by  careful  cultivation  is  the  secret  of  greatest 
success.  There  are  a  few  plants,  notably  the 
onion,  which  seem  to  give  larger  crops  if  flood 
irrigated.  The  onion  bed  may  be  surrounded 
with  furrows  or  levees  from  six  inches  to  a  foot 
high  and  irrigated  by  filling  with  water.  Un- 
less there  is  good,  quick-acting  under-drainage, 
the  water  should  be  drawn  off  the  bed  after 
standing  a  couple  of  hours. 

Plants  which  require  and  stand  the  most 
w^ater  are  celery,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  radishes 
and  turnips.  Such  things  as  spinach,  lettuce 
and  melons  need  frequent  irrigations  and  culti- 
vations to  keep  the  soil  moist  and  warm. 

Often  where  water  is  scarce  a  garden  may  be 
irrigated  by  catehing  a  bank  of  snowT  in  winter 
or  by  winter  irrigation,  or  by  catching  the  flood 
wrater  from  sudden  storms  or  melting  snow. 
Flood  water  may  be  stored  in  a  small  reservoir, 
and  if  it  supplies  only  one  light  irrigation  it  will 
pay.  Methods  of  dry  farm  practice  to  store 
moisture  in  the  soil  are  always  valuable. 


408 


AEID    AGRICULTURE. 


SOME 

SIMPLE    SUG- 
GESTIONS 


PROTECTION 
FROM  FROST 


Many  things  may  be  easily  done  to  aid  plants 
in  their  growth  and  usefulness  by  simply  taking 
serious  thought  and  doing  them  the  right  way. 
Knowing  the  origin  or  the  little  freaks  of  char- 
acter in  plants  often  gives  us  a  clue  which  will 
help  us  make  them  do  their  best.  As  examples, 
beets  came  from  the  salt  sea  side,  peas  from  the 
North,  celery  from  the  swamp,  alfalfa  from  dry 
regions.  Beets  will  stand  alkali — peas  a  short 
cool  season — celery  wants  wet  feet — alfalfa  will 
drown  if  its  feet  are  kept  wet.  The  way  the  sun 
and  wind  strikes  the  furrow  makes  a.  great  differ- 
ence in  the  little  local  climate  immediately  sur- 
rounding the  plant.  At  low  altitudes,  where  the 
sun  is  hot,  such  things  as  garden  peas  should  be 
planted  on  the  north  slope  of  the  furrow  to  keep 
the  young  seedlings  cool.  Melons  and  cucum- 
bers may  be  planted  on  the  south  side  of  the  fur- 
row to  keep  them  warm.  Always  set  young  cab- 
bage, cauliflower,  or  celery  plants  on  the  north 
side  of  the  furrow  so  they  are  protected  some- 
what from  the  hot  sun  rays.  Tomatoes  should 
be  planted  in  deep  furrows,  which  are  gradually 
filled  up,  making  them  deeper  rooted  than  if 
planted  at  the  surface.  These  directions  are 
suggestive  of  others  that  the  thoughtful  gardener 
and  farmer  may  apply. 

Much  security  from  damage  to  garden  truck 
by  late  and  early  frosts  may  be  had  by  very  sim- 
ple means.  One  of  the  best  protections  from 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  409 

frost  is  water.  If  there  is  frost  indication,  run 
water  through  the  furrows  in  the  garden  or 
orchard  and  the  latent  heat  it  will  give  out  is 
often  an  effectual  saving  of  the  crop.  A  simple 
and  effective  prevention  of  damage  from  light 
frosts  is  to  thoroughly  sprinkle  the  plants  with  a 
sprinkling  pot  or  spray  pump.  It  takes  much 
frost  to  freeze  plants  when  they  are  wet.  We 
have  seen  water  freeze  into  solid  sheets  of  ice  on 
the  leaves  of  sweet  potatoes  and  tomatoes  with- 
out injuring  the  plants  in  the  least.  Usually,  if 
plants  can  be  saved  at  the  time  of  the  first  fall 
frost,  their  time  of  usefulness  is  extended  some 
Aveeks.  When  the  garden  does  freeze,  save  all 
the  green  tomatoes,  cantaloupe  and  other  prod- 
ucts by  piling  them  up  in  piles  or  putting 
under  a  shed.  They  will  go  on  ripening  and 
those  not  used  by  the  family  make  excellent  feed 
for  the  cows  and  pigs,  and  other  stock.  If  sweet 
potato  vines  are  frosted,  cut  them  off  at  once  at 
top  of  ground.  The  roots  may  be  left  for  later 
digging. 

Much  may  be  done  in  places  which  have  a 
season  too  short  for  certain  tender  vegetables.  A 
good  melon  crop  may  be  matured  by  protecting 
early  planted  hills  during  cold  days,  or  at  night 
with  glass-covered  boxes.  Place  a  common  sheet 
of  window  pane,  12x14  inches  in  size,  at  an 
angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  on  top  of  a  box  made 
of  one-inch  boards,  and  set  over  the  melon  hills 


MAKING   THE 


410  ARID    AGBICULTUKE. 

in  the  spring  with  the  glass  facing  the  south  to 
catch  the  sun.  Take  them  off  during  the  warm 
parts  of  the  day  to  allow  the  plants  to  get  air, 
and  to  dry  off  any  accumulated  moisture.  Some- 
times the  soil  may  be  made  several  degrees  warm- 
er in  the  spring  by  rolling  with  a  smooth  roller. 
Break  it  up  again  with  the  harrow  in  a  few  days 
to  save  the  moisture.  The  suggestions  here  made 
along  with  suggestions  for  protecting  from  frost, 
enable  us  to  grow  more  tender  plants  and  keep 
them  producing  a  longer  time. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


TREES. 

The  man  who  grows  trees  where  none  grew  before 
has  accomplished  something1  worth  while. 

SHOULD  THE  Everyone  loves  trees.     Few  progressive  men 

pLAirrARMEB   w^  ke  satisn>ed  to  build  permanent  homes  with- 

TREES?  out  securing  the  association  of  trees.     They  add 

more  to  man's  comfort  and  welfare  than  can  be 

told  in  a  small  book.     They  make  his  landscape. 

They  delight  his  eye.     They  provide  shade  and 

shelter.     They    furnish    music    and    company. 

They  supply  wood  and  fruit. 

There  is  no  place  where  trees  cannot  be  made 
to  grow  if  they  are  given  the  right  treatment. 
Unless  they  can  be  properly  cared  for  do  not  at- 
tempt to  grow  them.  Neglect  will  result  in 
greater  expense  and  loss  when  dealing  with  trees 
than  any  farm  dissipation  we  know  about  unless 
it  is  fast  horses.  Be  sure  you  are  right — make 
haste  slowly — proceed  deliberately  and  with  con- 
sideration, and  good  results  are  sure  to  follow. 
£To  attempt  is  made  to  give  instruction  relative 
to  fruit  growing  or  general  horticulture,  but  the 
following  brief  recommendations  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  every  farmer  who  expects  to  set  out 
trees,  whether  he  can  irrigate  much  or  little  or 
not  at  all. 


A  S 

O  £0 

§  I 

^  W 

2  >, 

s  : 

3  o 

>>  PH 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  413 

PREPARA-  Do  not  attempt  to  plant  trees  the  first  year 

TION  OF  SO! 
FOB   TREES 


IXl   iii  sod  ground.     The    land    should    be    plowed 


deeply,  preferably  in  the  fall,  and  summer  tilled 
one  year  to  conserve  moisture.  Xo  weeds  should 
be  allowed  to  grow  or  mature.  In  digging  holes 
in  which  to  set  the  trees  make  them  large.  Throw 
the  top  soil  in  a  pile  by  itself  so  that  when  the 
trees  are  set  this  top  soil  can  be  placed  immedi- 
ately around  the  roots.  If  there  is  hard-pan  or 
any  impervious  sub-soil,  it  is  a  most  excellent 
plan  to  put  in  a  charge  of  dynamite  wherever 
it.  will  do  the  most  good.  In  setting  trees  or 
shrubs  close  together,  as  for  wind-breaks  or 
hedge,  much  time  and  labor  may  be  saved  by 
plowing  a  deep  furrow  and  running  the  sub- 
soiler  sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  deep.  This 
loosens  up  the  ground  and  makes  digging  the 
holes  easy.  A  good  preparation  of  soil  for  trees 
is  to  sow  alfalfa,  sweet  clover,  field  peas  or  other 
legumes,  and  plow  under  the  crop  to  increase  the 
humus  in  the  soil.  It  is  a  good  practice  to  use 
an  old  alfalfa  field  in  which  to  set  young  trees, 
but  the  alfalfa  should  be  plowed  under  before 
the  trees  have  thrown  out  feeder  roots  through 
the  surface  soil. 


SETTING  OUT          Over  the  larger  part  of  the  arid  region  the 

THE  TREE         ()1]]y  ^Q  time  to  set  out  trees  is  in  the  spring. 

The  killing  back  of  young  trees  is  largely  due  to 

their  drying  out.     The  long  winters  and  drying 


414  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

effects  of  the' wind,  while  the  roots  are  dormant, 
seems  to  be  the  main  cause  of  killing  back  the 
tops  of  the  tree.  If  trees  or  shrubs  are  obtained 
in  the  fall,  they  may  be  heeled  in  by  laying 
lengthwise  in  deep  trenches  and  covering  the 
whole  tree  with  enough  earth  to  keep  it  moist. 
They  should  be  taken  out  and  planted  where 
wanted  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground 
in  the  spring.  If  left  in  the  pits  too  long,  the 
buds  will  start  and  will  be  so  tender  when  set 
out,  that  all  will  die  back  to  the  trunk  and  it  will 
be  necessary  for  new  buds  to  form  if  the  tree 
lives. 

Deep  planting  should  be  practiced.  Trees 
should  always  be  put  a  few  inches  deeper  than 
they  grew  in  the  nursery.  We  cannot  tell  just 
how  far  this  system  of  deep  planting  can  be  car- 
ried with  success.  One  dry  farmer  of  many 
years'  experience  in  Utah  testifies  that  he 
planted  poplar  trees  with  four  feet  of  the  trunks 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground.  A  deep 
trench  was  dug  to  get  the  roots  down  where  they 
could  reach  some  sub-surface  moisture  which  oc- 
curred in  that  locality,  and  the  trench  was  after- 
wards slowly  filled  level  with  the  surface.  He 
said  these  treeshad  beengrowing  for  many  years. 
I  would  never  attempt  to  set  a  tree  without  the 
use  of  water,  even  if  I  had  to  haul  it  in  barrels. 
Set  the  trees  in  the  hole,  cover  the  roots  with  sur- 
face soil,  tramp  it  down  firmly  and  fill  the  re- 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


415 


mainder  of  the  hole  with  water.  After  the  water 
has  soaked  away,  finish  filling  the  hole  with  soil 
and  firm  it  well  with  the  feet  If  there  is  danger 
of  winds  loosening  the  tree,  set  one  or  two  stakes 
and  tie  the  tree  to  the  stake  with  strips  of  soft 
rag.  They  should  be  watched,  and  if  the  trunks 
loosen  an  opening  in  the  soil,  tramp  it  tightly 
against  the  tree.  If  possible  irrigate  the  trees 
from  a  canal  or  home  water  supply,  but  if  this 
cannot  be  done,  try  one  of  the  following  methods. 


TIN-CAN 
IRRIGATION 
TO   START 

TREES 


When  setting  out  the  tree  plant  at  a  distance 
of  eight  inches  or  a  foot  from  the  trunk,  a  five- 
gallon  oil  can  or  other  tin  of  like  nature,  putting- 
it  as  deep  as  convenient  in  the  soil.  With  a 
sharp  awl  puncture  a  very  small  hole  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  can.  When  the  can  is  filled  with 
water  it  will  insure  the  soil  around  the  roots  re- 
maining moist  for  a  long  enough  period  to  start 
the  growth  of  the  tree.  If  water  is  convenient, 
a  piece  of  stovepipe  set  next  to  a  tree  and  the 
bottom  half  of  it  pounded  full  of  manure,  makes 
an  excellent  method  of  supplying  water  and  at 
the  same  time  stimulating  with  liquid  plant 
food. 


ARTIFICIAL 

BOOT 

PRESSURE 


Some  years  ago  Professor  Goff,  of  Wiscon- 
sin, introduced  a  scheme  of  supplying  artificial 
root  pressure  to  start  newly-planted  trees.  Ex- 
periments indicated  that  the  method  was  very 


416  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

successful.  It  is  known  that  the  sap  in  a  grow- 
ing tree  exerts  considerable  pressure  while  the 
roots  are  absorbing  water.  When  a  tree  is  set 
out  or  transplanted,  all  the  root  hairs  which  ab- 
sorb moisture  are  destroyed  and  new  root-hairs 
must  be  thrown  out  before  the  root-pressure  can 
be  re-established. 

The  method  of  supplying  this  pressure  tem- 
porarily is  to  place  a  can  or  bottle  as  high  or 
higher  than  thejupper  limbs  of  a  tree  and  con- 
nect it  by  a  pfpe  or  tube  to  the  end  of  one  of  the 
f  reshly-cut-off  roots  at  the  bottom  of  the  tree.  If 
a  pipe  is  used,  connection  between  the  pipe  and 
the  root  is  made  with  a  small  piece  of  soft  rub- 
ber tubing  which  can  be  made  tight  so  it  will  not 
leak.  The  can  or  bottle  is  filled  with  water  and 
connection  made  when  the  tree  is  planted.  This 
supplies  both  moisture  and  pressure,  can  be  very 
cheaply  done,  and  we  suggest  that  dry-farmers 
who  are  planting  trees  under  trying  conditions 
give  it  a  trial. 

TEMPORARY  Some  protection  from  the  wind  should  al- 

PROTECTION  -,  •  i      i          mi    •  11  c  ^ 

ways  be  provided.  This  may  be  done  for  each 
tree  by  wrapping  the  trunk  with  paper  or  setting 
a  board  on  the  side  from  which  the  prevailing 
wind  conies.  It  often  pays  to  provide  shade  for 
the  trunks  of  newly-planted  trees,  and  this  is 
important  in  certain  parts  of  the  arid  region. 
Some  shade  should  be  set  on  the  south  and  west 


si 


f 


14 


418 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


sides  to  protect  the  tree  trunks  from  simscald, 
and  if  small  evergreens  are  planted  it  is  neces- 
sary to  furnish  some  kind  of  shade  the  first 
season. 


Plate  LIX.  A  Good  Way 
to  Leave  the  Top. 


Plate  LX. 


A  Bad  Way  to  Cut  Back 
a  Tree  Top. 


CULTIVATION 
AND  CARE 
OF  TREES 


Never  allow  grasses  or  weeds  to  grow  close 
around  the  trunks  of  young  trees.  They  use  up 
plant  food  and  pump  out  of  the  soil  enormous 
amounts  of  water.  Clean  cultivation  in  or- 
chards or  tree  plantations  should  never  be  neg- 
lected. Plowing  around  the  trees  forces  them 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  419 

to  send  their  roots  deeply  into  the  soil,  where 
they  will  not  be  caught  by  temporary  drouth. 
During  the  season  the  surface  cultivation  main- 
tains the  soil  mulch,  saves  the  moisture,  aerates 
the  soil,  warms  it,  fosters  the  bacteria  and  chem- 
ical action  which  makes  plant  food  available  and 
supplies  the  small  feeding  rootlets  sent  up  from 
below  with  moisture  and  food.  When  the  trees 
are  first  set  out  the  tops  may  be  trimmed  back, 
but  as  a  rule  we  would  rather  take  chances  on 
leaving  most  of  the  top,  at  least  the  terminal 
bud,  as  cutting  them  back  often  allows  them  to 
dry  out  and  they  recover  slowly  or  not  at  all.  If 
the  top  is  to  be  trimmed  back,  merely  trim  the 
side  branches  or  cut  them  out,  and  if  any  large 
branch  is  cut  off,  paint  the  wound  with  white 
lead.  The  best  time  to  trim  most  trees  is  in 
spring  or  early  summer.  Do  not  cut  off  the  limbs 
just  before  growth  starts  in  the  spring,  because 
when  the  sap  comes  up,  these  fresh  cuts  will 
bleed  and  they  furnish  entrance  places  for  in- 
sects and  fungus  diseases. 

WINTER  A  mulch  of  three  or  four  inches  of  barn-yard 

MULCHING  *        .  .      , 

manure  around  each  tree  during  the  winter  sup- 
plies plant  food,  saves  moisture  and  prevents 
winter  thawing  of  the  frozen  ground.  Do  not 
put  such  mulch  immediately  against  the  trunk 
of  the  tree,  for  it  harbors  mice,  which  may  gir- 
dle the  tree  by  eating  the  bark.  Where  standing 


420 


ARID  AGRICULTURE. 


KIND  OF 
TREES  TO 

PLANT 


water  gives  a  supply  of  ice  that  is  convenient, 
mulching  by  placing  lumps  of  ice  around  the 
tree  has  given  most  excellent  results.  This  ice 
keeps  the  tree  dormant,  in  a  measure  preventing 
the  swelling  of  the  buds  too  early  in  the  spring, 
as  well  as  keeping  the  soil  from  drying  out. 
Some  Northern  fruit  growers  are  practicing 
using  the  ice  mulch  and  testify  to  its  efficiency. 

The  list  of  trees  for  general  planting  is  a 
short  one.  In  favorable  locations  and  with  pro- 
tection a  large  variety  of  trees  succeed.  In 
towns  and  cities  where  there  is  protection  af- 
forded by  many  buildings,  where  the  water  sup- 
ply is  always  available  and  the  grower  can  give 
much  attention  to  his  trees,  practically  all  the 
varieties  that  grow  in  like  latitudes  elsewhere 
will  thrive.  A  good  example  of  this  may  be 
cited  in  the  trees  of  Denver,  where  the  long  list 
of  varieties  includes  everything  from  the  oak, 
linden,  chestnut,  walnut,  horse-chestnut,  etc., 
down  to  the  ever-present  and  most  hardy  cotton- 
wood. 


DROUTH- 
RESISTANT 


As  yet  few  trees  have  been  inured  to  drouth. 
In  the  warmer  parts  of  California  the  Eucalyp- 
tus thrives  with  little  summer  moisture.  For 
the  colder  mountain  and  great  basin  regions  the 
trees  which  will  grow  with  least  moisture  are 
the  common  Pine,  Englemann's  Spruce,  Xorway 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


421 


TBEES   FOB 

HIGH 

ALTITUDES 


KEY  TO 


GROW 


Spruce,  Douglas  Spruce,  Box  Elder,  Green  Ash, 
White  Ash  and  Elm.  While  they  are  general 
lovers  of  water,  there  are  none  which  are  so  sure 
to  succeed  on  arid  farms  as  the  Cottonwood, 
Russian  Willows  and  Poplar.  Always  plant 
the  Cottonless  Cottonwood.  The  Cottonwood  is 
a  native  and  so  hardy  that  it  succeeds  with  little 
moisture,  where  others  fail. 

The  most  drouth-resistant  fruit  trees  are 
sour  cherries  and  the  more  hardy  apples.  There 
are  many  producing  orchards  above  irrigation 
where  only  the  rainfall  is  depended  on,  of  cher- 
ries and  apples.  The  more  hardy  apples  are 
among  the  hardiest  of  all  trees. 

Above  6,000  feet  altitude  on  the  plateau  re- 
gions, plant  only  the  Cottonless  Cottonwood,  the 
Willow  and  the  Pine.  In  yards  for  ornamental 
purposes  the  Colorado  Blue  Spruce  and  the  na- 
tive Red  Cedars  will  succeed  anywhere  if  they 
can  be  watered.  Hardy  apples,  cherries,  and 
American  plums  succeed  where  any  protection 
and  care  can  be  given  them.  The  choicest  hard 
wood  trees  are  the  Elm  and  White  or  Green  Ash. 
The  writer  has  seen  splendid  specimens  of  the 
Russian  Mulberry,  loaded  with  fruit,  in  a  pro- 
tected place  about  7,000  feet  altitude  in  North- 
ern Colorado. 


A  partial  list  of  the  trees  which  are  now 
wn,      growing  successfully  in  the  different  sections  of 
the  arid  region  will  indicate  the  known  possibil- 


422 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


ALTITUDE 
7,000   FEET 


ALTITUDE 
6,000  FEET 


ALTITUDE 
5,000  FEET 


ities.  What  has  been  done,  can  be  done,  and 
more  is  sure  to  be  accomplished  in  the  future. 
The  following  lists  should  be  important  guides 
to  those  who  will  plant. 

At  Laramie,  Wyoming,  the  following  list  of 
trees  are  growing  in  the  city :  Cottonless  Cotton- 
wood,  Native  Black  Oottonwood,  Russian  Wil- 
low, White  Willow,  Native  Balm  of  Gilead, 
Quaking  Aspen,  Silver  Poplar,  Colorado  Blue 
Spruce,  Native  Pine,  Douglas  Spruce,  Tartarian 
Maple,  Siberian  Crab,  Wealthy  Apple,  Dutch- 
ess  Apple.  All  are  irrigated.  Wind  breaks  are 
necessary  to  make  trees  succeed. 

At  Cheyenne,  Wyoming,  all  the  trees  named 
for  Laramie  are  growing,  and  in  addition  we 
have  noted  the  following :  Horse  Chestnut,  Car- 
olina Poplar,  Honey  Locust,  Elm,  White  Ash, 
Eed  Cedar,  Box  Elder.  Wind  breaks  are  nec- 
essary. 

In  Northern  Colorado  are  grown  all  the  trees 
we  have  named  for  higher  altitudes  in  Wyoming 
and  in  addition  a  long  list  might  be  added.  We 
mention  a  few  of  the  more  desirable  additions. 
Here,  as  elsewhere  in  the  West,  the  more  hardy 
C'ottonwoods,  Willows  and  Poplars  are  first 
choice  for  new  planting.  Any  of  this  collection 
of  trees  should  grow  as  well  at  the  lower  alti- 
tudes in  Wyoming,  Montana,  Nevada,  Idaho, 


ARID    AGRICULTURE.  423 

Utah  and  Western  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  Wind 
breaks  are  important  for  protection  of  young 
planting. 

Carolina  Poplar,  Norway  Poplar,  Siberian 
Poplar,  Lombardy  Poplar,  Elm,  White  Ash, 
Green  Ash,  Soft  Maple,  Cut-Leaved  Birch,  the 
Hardy  Catalpa  (Catalpa  Speciosa),  Honey  Lo- 
cust, Black  Locust,  Black  Walnut,  Hackberry, 
Horse  Chestnut,  Mountain  Ash,  Russian  Mul- 
berry, Russian  Olive,  Silver  Poplar,  Silver  Ma- 
ple, Norway  Spruce,  Box  Elder,  Black  Cherry. 
The  most  hardy  varieties  of  apples  are  Wealthy, 
Yellow  Transparent,  Northwest  Greening,  Pe- 
ter, McMahan,  Gano,  etc. 

SOME  or  THE  The  following  list  of  shrubs  have  proven  to 
SHRUBS  AND  ke  hardy  under  the  most  trying  climate  and  sea- 
VINES  son.  Flowering  Currant,  Native  Gooseberry, 

Box  Thorn  or  Matrimony  \7ine,  Lilac,  Bridal 
Wreath  (Spirea  Van  Houteii)  Buffalo  Berry, 
Silverberry,  Choke  Cherry,  Native  Roses,  Tar- 
tarian Honeysuckle.  The  four  most  hardy 
vines  are  the  Annual  Wild  Cucumber  or  Balsam 
Apple,  native  Hops,  of  which  the  roots  live 
through  the  winter,  Native  Clematis,  which  is  a 
very  hardy  perennial,  and  Virginia  Creeper. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


WIND  BREAKS. 

Our  winds  are  useful,  but  it  is  well  not  to  get  too 
much  of  a  good  thing1. 

GIVE  THE  Over  the  greater  part  of  the  plateau  region 

WIND  TOUR  ,    .  °  ~.  r  '     . 

ATTENTION  an(l  ln  eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  there  is 
considerable  wind  movement.  The  windy  sea- 
son usually  occurs  during  the  spring  months  and 
while  these  storms  are  not  destructive  to  prop- 
erty they  greatly  influence  growing  crops.  In 
some  places  the  drifting  of  soils  is  a  factor  that 
must  be  considered.  The  winds  are  dry  and 
have  much  to  do  with  the  evaporation  of  moist- 
ure from  soils  and  trees.  These  winds  often 
carry  along  with  them  solid  particles  of  snow,  ice 
and  sand,  which  may  damage  small  seedlings  of 
grains  or  other  crops,  and  cause  discomfort  to 
stock.  •  The  value  of  brush  and  trees  as  shelter 
for  stock  is  appreciated  by  many  rangemen. 
There  are  some  simple  "kinks"  in  dodging  the 
bad  effects  of  winds  that  farmers  may  practice  to 
their  advantage. 

SMALL  WIND-         In  our  soil  culture  talk  we  recommend  the 
°P       plowing  and  planting  to  be  done  at  right  angles 
to  the  direction  of  the  wind.     The  rough  fur- 
rows break  up  the  force  of  the  wind  and  prevent 


ARID    AGRICULTUEE. 


425 


TEMPORARY 

PLANT 

WIND- 


the  drifting  of  the  soil.  The  small  furrows  left 
by  the  drill  or  the  ridges  formed  by  the  harrow 
have  the  same  effect  and  are  valuable  protection 
to  seedling  grains  from  the  cutting  effect  of  blow- 
ing sand  and  snow.  In  places  the  throwing  up 
of  small  dykes  or  high  furrow  slices  makes  a 
wind-break  which  is  worth  while.  Where  the 
land  is  fairly  level  or  smooth  a  low  obstruction 
will  cause  the  air  that  strikes  it  to  be  lifted  so  it 
does  not  again  strike  the  land  with  force  for  con- 
siderable distances.  Experiments  have  shown 
that  an  obstruction  two  or  three  feet  high  may  be 
noticeable  protection  for  a  quarter  mile  beyond. 

Three  or  four  rows  of  tall  growing  corn,  like 
the  flour  corn,  which  makes  large  growth,  but 
does  not  mature  in  the  north,  or  rows  of  Sor- 
ghum or  Kafir  corn,  will  make  useful  wind- 
breaks for  young  plantings.  The  stalks  may  be 
left  standing  thru  the  year. 

A  few  years  ago,  in  parts  of  Dakota,  the 
Siberian  wormwood  was  introduced.  It  is  an 
annual  sagebrush,  which  makes  tall  growth 
and  the  dead  plants  will  stand  some  years.  The 
Russian  Sunflower  planted  closely  and  in  double 
rows,  would  be  effectual  for  one  season.  Many 
other  annual  plants  which  could  be  used  for  this 
purpose  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  farmer. 


PERMANENT 
WIND- 
BREAKS 


For  permanent  wind-breaks  use  quick-grow- 
ing trees.     Plant  them  thick  in  rows  so  the  alter- 


426  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

nate  trees  are  opposite  the  space  left  in  the  next 
row.  Set  the  rows  at  right  angles  to  the  prevail- 
ing winds  on  the  sides  of  the  farm  from  which 
the  winds  come.  This  will  be  on  the  West  and 
North  or  Southwest  and  North  sides  of  the  place 
in  most  parts  of  the  arid  region. 

WIND-  At  high  altitudes  nothing  has  been  found  to 

BREAK 

TREES  take  the  place  of  the  cottonwood  and  willow. 

Evergreens,  Pines  and  Spruce  are  promising, 
but  have  not  been  planted  to  any  extent.  At 
altitudes  below  five  thousand  feet  in  the  middle 
West,  the  Carolina  Poplar,  is  one  of  the  most 
rapid-growing  and  successful  wind-break  trees. 
It  is  easy  to  plant  and  by  heading  back  it  throws 
out  many  side  limbs  from  the  trunks  to  fill  in 
the  space.  Plant  four  feet  apart  in  rows  four 
feet  apart,  letting  the  trees  alternate  in  each  row. 
The  Russian  and  White  Willows  and  Golden 
Willows  make  quick-growing  wind-breaks,  but 
are  slower  to  start.  These  trees  usually  spend 
one  or  two  seasons  making  roots  and  small  side 
shoots  before  they  throw  up  their  central  trunk. 
In,  many  places,  however,  they  will  make  thick 
wind-breaks  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  high  in 
four  or  five  years.  The  Box  Elder  is  a  suitable 
wind-belt  tree  in  many  places,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  other  kinds  will  be  useful.  The  Green 
Ash  is  one  of  the  best  drouth-resistant  hard  wood 
trees.  The  "Apple  King"  of  Kansas  says  he 
plants  apple  trees  for  windbreaks  and  if  he 


AKID    AGRICULTURE. 


427 


wants  more  wind-breaks,  he  plants  more  apple 
trees.  Such  trees  are  dual  purpose,  furnishing 
both  fruit  and  shelter.  Where  enough  time  can 
be  used  they  will  do.  Such  trees  should  be 
headed  as  near  the  ground  as  possible  and  allow 
soil  cultivation  close  to  the  trunks. 


SHRUB  OB 
SEDGE 
WIND- 
BREAK 


Double  rows  of  smaller  growing  hardy 
shrubs  are  both  useful  and  ornamental.  The 
hardiest  and  quickest  growing  is  the  Box  Thorn 
or  Matrimony  Vine  (Lycium  Vugare}. 

Hedges  may  be  grown  of  California  Privet, 
Lilac,  Honey  Locust,  Barberries,  Willows  or 
Osage  Orange.  Permanent  rows  of  currants  and 
gooseberries,  Dwarf  Cherries,  Bush  Honey 
Suckle  (Tartarian),  Buffalo  Berries,  and  many 
others  may  be  used.  Some  shrubs  may  be  set  in 
trenches  placing  them  one  to  three  feet  apart  and 
allowing  them  to  thicken  up.  Where  dry  farm- 
ing is  practiced,  some  water  should  be  used  to 
start  the  plants,  or  moisture  should  be  first  stored 
by  at  least  a  vear  of  tillage. 


SHELTER 
BELTS 


Shelter  belts  several  rods  wide  are  often  used 
and  are  advantageous  where  the  winds  blow  long 
and  strong.  Such  shelter  belts  are  best  composed 
of  several  varieties  of  trees.  Plant  the  more 
hardy  trees  as  Cottonwood,  Poplars  or  Locust  in 
the  outer  rows  four  or  eight  feet  apart;  then 
more  compact-growing  Box  Elders  or  Green  or 
White  Ash.  The  Russian  Olive  is  hardy  and 


ARID    AGRICULTURE. 


429 


may  be  worked  in  to  advantage  and  rows  of  wil- 
lows find  a  place  in  such  plantings.  Plant  the 
inside  rows  closer  together.  A  low  trench  left 
by  furrowing  with  a  lister  or  by  back  furrowing 
leaving  the  soil  higher  between  the  rows,  will 
cause  the  moisture  to  run  toward  the  newly 
planted  young  trees  in  the  trenches.  Shelter 
belts  also  catch  drifting  snows  and  are  often 
more  successful  than  single  rows  or  narrow  wind- 
breaks. 


COMBINED 

WIND- 
BREAK  AND 
FOREST 


In  many  parts  of  the  West  the  growing  of 
trees  for  commercial  purposes  is  becoming  profit- 
able. In  California,  Eucalyptus  plantations  are 
grown  for  wood,  and  harvested  in  five  or  six 
years  from  planting.  In  part?  of  Kansas,  Ne- 
braska and  Colorado,  plantations  of  Catalpa  and 
Black  Locust  are  being  set  out  for  the  production 
of  railroad  ties  and  fence  posts.  It  is  expected 
they  will  reach  sufficient  size  in  twelve  to 
eighteen  years.  Some  are  even  setting  out  black 
walnut  groves  for  future  lumber  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  there  must  be  a  wait  of  from  fifty  to 
eighty  years  to  reap  what  has  been  sown. 

Such  timber  plantations,  if  located  with  the 
object  in  view,  furnish  both  wind-breaks  and 
stock  shelter. 


FENCE 
WIND- 
BREAKS 


Board,  pole,  log  or  brush  fences  are  often 
used  by  range  sheepmen  to  protect  their  flocks  at 
night  or  during  storms.  Such  fences  make 


430  ARID    AGRICULTURE. 

effective  wind  protection  for  newly  planted  trees. 
Board  fences  constructed  like  the  railroad  snow 
fences,  either  supported  on  slanting  "bucks"  or 
on  upright  posts,  cause  eddies  in  the  winds 
which  will  form  snow  banks  where  wanted  and 
prevent  deep  snow  drifts  where  they  are  not 
wanted.  Not  a  few  ranchmen  use  such  fences 
to  collect  the  snow  for  accumulation  of  moisture 
where  they  wish  to  grow  their  garden  or  some 
field  crop. 


THE    END. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abortion,   contagious    356 

Adobe  house    393 

Agriculture,  arid   11 

western  new   14 

Alfalfa,  clipping  young  plants 125 

cultivation  of  hay 134 

diseases,  some  new 280 

fertilization   of  flowers 124 

as  a  fertilizer 141 

furrow  irrigation  for 137 

German     129 

Grimm's    127 

harvest  after  any  injury 140 

harvesting  hay     138 

hay  culture   130 

for  horses    334 

inoculation  of  soil 135 

in  Western  agriculture 121 

irrigation  of  hay 136 

leaf  spot  of 279 

meal     145 

mixtures     136 

pasturing 1 

planting  with  nurse  crop 133 

preparation  of  land  for 131 

products  145 

seed,  crop  for 126 

seed  crop,  will  there  be  a 125 

seed,  cultivation  for 123 

seed  culture  121 

seed,  good    129 

seed,  harvesting  and  threshing 123 

seed,   injury  by  chalsis 270 

seed,  irrigation  for 123 

seed,  planting  for 122 

seed,  probable  yield  of 124 

seed,  stacking  for 126 

seed,  time  to  harvest 126 

seeding  for  hay 132 

soils  for   130 

storing  green    140 

time   to   sow 131 

Turkestan    127 

value  of  different  cuttings 144 

varieties  of   127 

Alkali,   crops  for 85 

effects  of    84 

irrigation  and 83 

land  for  sugar  beets 207 

remedies  for   85 


432  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Anemia,   infectious    351 

Animal  Breeding,  pointers  on 336 

Animals,  care  of 344 

Animal  castration,   age   for 369 

Animals,  stables  and  shelter 345 

Antiseptics  for  stock 370 

Ants 270 

how  to  kill 272 

Arid  farming,   new 29 

Region,   the 11 

Region,   opportunity   in 38 

Aridity,   different  from  East 16 

Arsenate  of  lead 263 

Artichoke,  Jerusalem    226 


Barbed   wire  cuts 370 

Barley 172 

beardless  brewing 175 

culture    175 

Hulless    174 

Two-row  black 173 

varieties   for   brewing 174 

Barns     396 

Beans    223 

Bean  beetles   266 

Beets  and  alkali  land , 207 

Beet  beetles    265 

growing  improves  land 206 

growing   is   intensive 202 

Beets,   pasturing    225 

use  clean  ground  for 210 

water  used  by 53 

Birds,  a  word  about 294 

Bisulphide  of  carbon  for  ants 272 

of  carbon  for  rodents 288 

Blackleg    349 

Bloat  and  treatment 354 

Bokhara  clover,  feeding  value  of 161 

Bordeaux  mixture 280 

Breeding  Animals,  pointers  on 336 

Breeding  Hornless  Cattle 365 

Brush  plows    110 

Buckwheat     222 

Bugs,  kerosene  emulsion  for 262 


Cabbage  lice   269 

worms    268 

Cama,  death    360 

Canada  Thistle 253 

Care  of  Mothers 340 

Castration  of  Animals 367 

Castrating  Calves    367 

Colts    367 

Castration  of  Sheep 368 

Cattle  feeding  with  hay 327 

feeding  in  summer 324 

ranging   307 

Chloro-Naptholeum   for   flies 326 


INDEX.  433 

PAGE 

Climate,  the  dry 20 

dry,  healthful  to  stock 343 

effect  on  plants 233 

Clover  Seed  Chalsis 270 

White  Sweet 160 

Cockle   254 

Comfort  of  Family 391 

Contents   7 

Corn     153 

Culture  of   155 

Harvest  of  for  Fodder 155 

Varieties  of  for  West 154 

Corrosive  Sublimate  for  Potato  Seed 191 

Cottonwood  Borer 266 

Cow,  Gestation  Period  of 33S 

Cows,  Rations  for 322 

Crab  Grass    7 255 

Crop  Management 64 

Crop,  Planting-  the 65 

Crops,  Average  not  Profitable 204 

Disease-resistant   64 

Drouth-resistant    64 

Hail-resistant 64 

Hay  and  Forage 147 

Irrigation  of 86 

Crops,  Miscellaneous    221 

Crops,   Resistant    64 

Root     224 

Seed  Planting  for  Irrigated 89 

Crown  Gall  of  Trees 279 

Culverts   116 

Cut  Worms   .  265 


Dandelion   251 

Dehorning    364 

Detailing  Lambs    365 

Development,   more  intensive 13 

progress  of   11 

Disease,  recognition  of 344 

Distemper    353 

treatment  or   354 

Ditch-making  Tools   110 

Dodder    249 

Domestic  Water  Supply 394 

Dry  Farm,  Selection  of .  . 381 

Dry  Farms,  Size  of 36. 

Dry  Farming,  an  old  practice 34 

Cultivating  grains  in 71 

Equipment  for   36 

Exceptions  to  Rules  for 41 

Fertilizing  the  Soil  for 75 

Harvesting  Grain   in 71 

Key  to 35 

Method    35 

Personal  Elements  of  Success 40 

Rotation  of  Crops  for 74 

Success  of   34 

Suitable  Soils  for 39 

the  Term    33 

Dugout,  the 391 


43-1  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Earth  Worms,  Effect  of 272 

Remedy  for 273 

Emmer,  Feeding  Value  of 186 

or  Spelt  185 


Farm  Areas 19 

Farms,  Distance  from  Railroad 378 

Farm,  Dry,  Size  of 36 

Exposure    379 

Irrigated,    Size  of 79 

Surgery     364 

Farming,   Arid    33 

Dry     33 

Mixed    37 

Must  Learn  Western 15 

Pure  and  Mixed 80 

Scientific     33 

Systems  of  in  West 18 

Supplemental    386 

Feeding  Animals   311 

Feeding,  a  New  Science 314 

as  Science  and  Art 312 

Balanced   Rations    314 

Balanced  Rations  for  Cows 320 

Carbohydrates    316 

How  Foods  are  Used 317 

Minerals 315 

Protein    316 

Ration  Determined  by  Experiment 317 

Ration  for  Summer  Feeding 327 

The  Ration  Problem 318 

Use  of  a  Ration 311 

Value  of  Western  Grains 331 

What  Foods  Contain 315 

Widen  Western  Rations 319 

Fence  Posts,  Treatment  of 399 

Fencing   the   Farm 398 

Fistula    371 

Flax,   Culture  of 221 

Feeding  of  Seed 222 

Flea  Beetles    268 

Flies,  Protect  Cattle  from 326 

Foot  and  Mouth  Disease 352 

Forage   Crops    147 

Foreword    5 

Formalin,   for  Smut 282 

Frost  Protection    408 

Fuma     288 


Garden,  Dry  Farm 405 

How  to  Make  a 404 

Irrigated    407 

Gardening  Suggestions    408 

Garden,  What  It  Does 403 

Gates     400 

Geophytics     384 

Gestation  in  Cats 340 

Period  in  Cow 339 


IXDEX.  435 

PAGE 

Gestation — Continued. 

Period   in   Dogs 340 

Period  of  Guinea  Pig 340 

Period  in  Horse 338 

Period  of  Rabbit 340 

Period  in  Sheep  and  Goats 339 

in  Swine 340 

Glanders     350 

Gopher,  the  Pocket 291 

the  Pocket,  How  to  Exterminate 292 

Grains   172 

Grain.  Cultivation  of  for  Dry  Farming 71 

Farming ' 72 

Gorging    355 

Harvesting  Dry  Farm 71 

Poisoned  for  Prairie  Dogs 289 

Smuts    281 

Smut,  Formalin  for 282 

Smut.  Hot  Water   Treatment 283 

Stooling  of    68 

Time  to  Sow 66 

Grains,  Water  Used  by 54 

Granary    398 

Grasshoppers    263 

Grass  Mixtures    167 

Grubbers  for  Sagebrush 108 


Harrow,   Acme    61 

The  Alfalfa 61 

The  Disc    60 

The  Drag  or  Tooth 61 

The  Spring  Tooth 61 

When  and  What  to 63 

Harrowing   60 

After  Harvest    71 

Good    , 62 

Grain   71 

Sugar  Beets    212 

Winter  Wheat    71 

Hay,  Best  Method  of  Measuring 170 

Cubic  Feet  in  a  Ton 170 

Feeding     327 

and  Forage  Crops 147 

Methods   of  Measuring 168 

Selling  by  Measure 167 

Sweet   Clover    162 

Headgates    114 

Hog  House    396 

Horses,  Alfalfa  for 334 

Horse,   Castration   of 367 

Colics   in    347 

Colic,  Treatment  of 348 

Distemper   in    358 

Foot  Troubles 346 

Gestation  and  Heat,  Period  of 338 

Ranging    309 

the  Teeth  of  the 373 

House,  Adobe   393 

Flies    .             270 


436  INDEX. 

PAGE 

House — Continued. 

Log    393 

Sod,    the    392 

Tent     391 

Hoven    354 

Humus    57 


Infectious  Anemia    351 

Insects,  Ants,  How  to  Kill 272 

Ants,  Why  Kill  Them 270 

Bean  Beetles 266 

Cabbage  Lice    269 

Cabbage  Worms    268 

Chewing   261 

Clover  Seed  Chalsis 270 

Cottonwood  Borer   266 

Cut  Worms   265 

False  Chinch  Bug 269 

Flea  Beetles    268 

Grasshoppers    263 

House  Flies    270 

Pea  Weavels  .  . 267 

Potato  and  Beet  Beetles 265 

That  Suck   260 

Useful  Insects    259 

What   Are    259 

Western  Army  Worm 269 

Investment  Suggestions  to  Beginners 390 

Irrigate,  Time  to  , 86 

Irrigated  Farm,  Lay  of  the  Land 385 

Farm,  Selecting  an 383 

Irrigation  and  Alkali 83 

Amount  of  Water  Required 90 

The  Basin  Method 104 

Canvas  Dams    113 

Check  Method 101 

and  Deep  Rooting  of  Plants 92 

Ditch-Making  Tools   110 

Drops    115 

of  Farm  and  Garden  Crops 86 

Farm  Level 117 

Flooding  from  Field  Ditches 96 

Furrow  Method   of 98 

Growth   in   Methods 93 

Headgates    114 

Home-Made   Appliances    108 

Irrigator's  Problem    94 

Leveling  Implements   112 

Local  Methods  of 93 

Marker    114 

Methods  for  Clay  Soils 105 

Methods  for  Sandy  Soils 106 

Methods  for  Slight  Slopes 106 

Methods  for  Steep  Slopes 106 

Natural  Sub 102 

Small    Flumes    116 

Smqll  Tools 112 

Soil  Culture  for.  .                 81 


INDEX.  437 

PAGE 

Irrigation — Continued. 

and  Soil  Fertility 82 

Sub  by  Pipes 103 

of   Sugar  Beets 216 

Tapoons    113 

of  Wheat   181 

Wild  Flooding    94 

Winter    89 

Jerusalem  Artichoke    226 

Kaflr  Corn   156 

Kerosene   Emulsion    .  .  . ' 262 

Kohlrabi 164 

lamb  Feeding  on  Peas 329 

Land  Levelers,  H6w  Ma'de 112 

Lands,    Richness   of 20 

Larkspur    359 

Poisoning.    Treatment   of 360 

Level,   the  Farm 117 

Leveler,  the  Land 112 

Live  Stock.  Necessity  of  Winter  Feed  for 305 

Loco   Weed    358 

Log  Houses 393 

Lupinosis     361 

Milk  Fever    356 

Millet    158 

Moisture.  Conservation  of 53 

to  Make  Soils  Absorb 55 

Molasses  from  Beets  for  Feed 319 

Mothers,  Care  of 340 

Mulch,   the  Soil 55 

Mustard,  Sulphate  of  Iron,  Spray  for 257 

Nurse  Crop   for  Alfalfa 133 

Oats     176 

and   Peas    153 

Varieties  of 176 

Packer,  the  Subsurface 58 

Paris  Green  and  Bran 264 

for  Insects  263 

Pasture  Fattening  329 

Grass  for  164 

Pasturing  Alfalfa  142 

Beets 225 

Root  Crops  330 

Pea  Weavels  267 

Canada  Field 147 

Combining  With  Oats 153 

Cultivation  of 149 

Feeding:  Value  of 150 

Harvesting  by  Pasturing 151 

Irrigation  of 149 

Planting 14g 

Pulling  or  Mowing 152 


438  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Peas — Continued. 

Soils  for 148 

Varieties   of    147 

Petroleum,  Crude  for  Posts 400 

Pigs,    Castrating    369 

Pintsch  Gas  for  Rodents 288 

Plants  Adapt   Themselves 233 

Plant  Breeders,  Early 234 

Plant  Breeders  of  Today 236 

Plant  Breeding,  History  of 228 

Need   of    239 

Value  of 237 

What  Farmer  Can  Do  In 242 

What  It  Is 236 

Plant  Diseases,  Not  Much  Trouble  With 274 

Plants,  Domesticating 230 

Deep  Rooting  of 92 

Effect  of  Climate  on 233 

Plant  Lice,  Tobacco  for 262 

Whale  Oil  Soap  for 262 

Plants,  Must  Improve 241 

Sex  in 231 

Water  Requirements  of 53 

Plow    42 

Plows,  Disc   49 

Mold  Board 50 

Plow,  When  to 48 

Why  Deep   43 

Plows,   A  Word   About 49 

Plowing  Deep  Gives  Root  Pasture 45 

Deep  Increases  Storage  Capacity 44 

Depth  of 43 

Good 47 

Deep  May  Not  Do 45 

Power 51 

Pulverizes  the  Soil 44 

Deep    Saves   the  Soil 45 

Second     46 

Subsoil    46 

Poisoned  Grain,  How  to  Use 291 

Poisonous  Plants 358 

Poison  Plants,  Kafir  Corn  and  Sorghum 362 

Larkspur    359 

Lobelia   362 

Loco 358 

Death  Cama   360 

Lupine    361 

Monk's  Hood 362 

Wild  Parsnip    360 

Poll   Evil    371 

Potato  Beetles    265 

as  an  Irrigated  Crop 189 

Culture   188 

Diseases   275 

the,  for  Dry  Farming 188 

Flea  Beetles    268 

Machinery    198 

Seed,   Corrosive  Sublimate  for 191 

Seed,   Cutting    191 

Seed,  Treatment  of 190 

the  Western  Blight 277 


INDEX.  439 

PAGE 

Potatoes,  Cultivation  of 196 

Harvesting  and  Sorting 198 

Irrigation  of   196 

Market  Demands   199 

Preparation  of  Soil  for 192 

in  Rotation   197 

Seed     192 

Varieties   of    189 

Way  to  Plant 194 

Poultry  House    396 

Poverty   Weed    256 

Prairie  Dog  Poison 289 

Precipitation  in  Arid  Region 23 

Press  Drill,  the 65 

Packing  With 59 

Prickly  Lettuce    254 

Puberty    in    Animals 338 


Babbits,  Injury  by 293 

Rabbit  Trap,   the  Wellhouse 293 

Rainfall  of  Arid  Region 23 

in  Growing  Season 55 

Season    of    27 

Table 25 

Range,  the 299 

Improvement  of 304 

Rational  Use  of 301 

for  Stock.  Amount  Required 301 

Summer   Range    303 

Winter   Range    302 

Ranging  Cattle    307 

Horses     309 

Sheep     310 

Rape,  Dwarf   163 

Rhyzoctonia    '. 276 

Ringbone    372 

Rodents,   Damage  Done  by 285 

Destroying  with  Gas 288 

Give  the  Boy  a  Gun 286 

Keeping  Cats  for 288 

Poison  for   289 

Traps  for 287 

of  West    284 

Roller.  Use  of  the 58 

Root  Crops  for  Feed 225 

Cellar    398 

Rotation  with  Alfalfa 141 

of  Potatoes    197 

Russian  Thistle 256 

Rutting   in    Sheep 339 

Rye    184 

Sagebrush  Grubbers 10S 

Salt  Bush,  Australian 159 

Salt  Sage 159 

Season,  the  Growing 22 

Lengthening  Growing  409 

Seed,  Acclimated  70 

per  Acre 67 


440  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Seed — Continued. 

Broadcasting     65 

Potato 192 

Table     69 

Some  Suggestions   70 

Selection,  Beginning  of 232 

Shelter  Belts    427 

Sheep,   Castration   of 368 

and  Goats,  Gestation  and  Heat  Period  of 339 

Ranging   310 

Shrubs,   Most   Hardy 423 

for    Wind    Breaks 427 

Smut,  Treatment  of 282 

"Snow  on  the  Mountain,"  Weed 246 

Soil,  Character  Told  by  Plants 384 

Closet,  the 395 

Soil,  Crops  for  Alkali 85 

Culture  for  Irrigation 81 

Soil  Fertility  and  Irrigation 82 

Flocculation   of    40 

Mulch   the    55 

Packing   the    57 

Preparation  for  Wheat 178 

Pulverizing  by  Plowing 44 

Remedies  for  Alkali 85 

Reservoir  for  Water 39 

Rolling  the    58 

Soil,  Storage  of  Water  in 44 

Soil  Treatment  After  Harvest 71 

Soils,  Arid   27 

Soils,    Composition    of 29 

Soils,  Fertilized  by  Alfalfa 141 

Soils,   Sandy    39 

Soils,  Suitable  for  Dry  Farming 39 

Soils  for  Wheat 177 

Sorghum     156 

Varieties   of    157 

Spavin     372 

Spelt,  Feeding  Value  of 186 

Russian    185 

Splints     372 

Squash,   Bacterial  Disease  of 278 

Squirrel  Tail  Grass 254 

Stock  Foods,  Comparative  Value  of 332 

Stock  Ranch,  Selecting  a 380 

Storms,   Freedom  from 22 

Sub-Soil  Packing 59 

Plowing    46 

Sugar  Beet,  the 201 

Sugar  Beet  Culture 208 

Curly  Top   of 278 

Diseases  of   277 

Feeding  Value 219 

Harrowing 212 

Harvesting  of 217 

Hoeing    215 

Irrigation  of 216 

Leaf   Spot   of 278 

and  Prosperity   204 

Sugar  Beet  Seed,  Irrigating 212 

Sugar  Beet  Tops,  Care  of 218 


INDEX.  441 

PAGE 

Sugar  Beets,  Cost  and  Profit 218 

Cultivation   of    214 

Ripening  of 217 

Seeding  of 211 

Thinning    212 

Time  to  Plant 210 

Sugar   Factory   By-Products 330 

Sulphate  of  Iron  for  Weeds 257 

Supplemental  Farming   386 

Surgery  on  the  Farm 364 

Sweet  Clover,  Making  Hay 162 

Swine,   Gestation  and  Heat  Periods 340 

Teeth  of  the  Horse 373 

Trees,   Artificial  Root  Pressure 415 

Crown  Gall   of 279 

Cultivation  and  Care  of 418 

Deep   Planting  of 414 

for  Different  Altitudes 422 

Drouth-Resistant     420 

for  High  Altitudes 421 

Key   to  Those  Which  Will  Grow 421 

Kind  to  Plant 420 

Preparation  of  Soil  for 413 

Setting  Out 413 

Should  the  Dry  Farmer  Plant? 411 

Temporary  Protection  of 416 

Tin  Can  Irrigation  for 415 

for  Wind  Breaks 426 

Winter  Mulching  of 419 

Tobacco   for  Plant  Lice 262 

Tuberculosis    .  350 


Vaccination  for  Blackleg 350 

Vegetable  Mold    57 

Veterinary  Management   343 

Vines,  Most  Hardy 423 

Waste,  Sanitary  Disposal  of 395 

Water,   Capillary  Movement  of 56 

Rights     385 

Requirements  of  Plants 53 

Supply,  the  Home 378 

Supply  for  Irrigation 385 

Used  by  Beet  Crop 53 

Used  by  Grains 54 

Weaning  Young  Animals 342 

Weed,  Sweet  Clover  Not  a  Bad 163 

Weeds,  Bind  Weed 253 

Canada  Thistle 253 

Cockle   254 

Crab  Grass    255 

Dandelion     251 

Dodder    249 

Fox  Tail  or  Wild  Barley 254 

Harbor  Insects 247 

Injurious   to  Stock 247 

Iron    .    250 


442  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Weeds — Continued. 

Killing  with  Sprays 248 

Mustard    257 

Poison  to  People 246 

Poverty   Weed    256 

Prickly  Lettuce    254 

Russian  Thistle   256 

Weeds,   What   They  Do 245 

Wild   Oats    252 

Weeder,  the 62 

Western  Farm,   Selection  of 377 

Home,  Capital  Needed 389 

Wheat   177 

Irrigation  of 181 

Planting    180 

Soils     177 

as   Stock   Feed 182 

Time  to  Harvest 182 

Time   to    Sow 181 

Varieties  of 178 

White    Sweet    Clover 160 

Wild  Oats    252 

Parsnip    Poisoning    361 

Wind    Breaks    424 

Break  Combined  with  Forest 429 

Breaks  of  Fences 429 

Permanent     425 

of    Shrubs    427 

Temporary  Plant 425 

Break  Trees    426 

Wounds   of   Stock 370 

Treatment  of   371 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PLATE  PAGE 

I.  Some  Arid  Land  Opened  for  Settlement 10 

II.  Wyoming  State  Dry  Farm 32 

III.  Plowing    42 

IV.  Plowing  Dry  Sod  Seven  Inches  Deep 50 

V.  Plowing  Stubble  Eleven  Inches  Deep 51 

VI.  The  Weeder  in  Grain 62 

VII.  The  Press  Drill 66 

VIII.  Dr.   Cooke  and  Beardless  Barley 72 

IX.  Coming  Thru  the  Rye 73 

X.  Government  Farm,   Cheyenne. 74 

XI.  Outlet  of  Cloud  Peak  Lake 78 

XII.  Mountain  Snows  Make  Flood  Waters 87 

XIII.  Hanover   Canal   in   Winter 88 

XIV.  Rock  River,  with  Irrigated  Meadows 95 

XV.  Furrow  Irrigation    98 

XVI.  The  Big  Horn  River  is  a  Grand  Stream 107 

XVII.  Sybille  Valley  and  Wheatland  Canal Ill 

XVIII.  Turkey  Red  Winter  Wheat  Dry  Grown 120 

XIX.  Wonderful  Alfalfa  Specimens 1*28 

XX.  A  Good  Way  to  Make  Large  Stacks 138 

XXI.  "Go-Devil"  and  Stacker  Putting  Up  Alfalfa.  .  139 

XXII.  Blooded  Rams  on  Alfalfa  Pasture 143 

XXIII.  Stacking   Hay    145 

XXIV.  Canada  Field  Peas ..                                    149 


INDEX.  443 

PLATE  PAGE 

XXV.  Putting  Up  Native  Hay  in  North  Park 165 

XXVI.  A  Field  of  Awnless  Brome  Grass 166 

XXVII.  Timothy  Hay  on  Native  Sod 169 

XXVIII.  Grains  Grown  at  Altitude  Over  7,000  Feet.  172 

XXIX.  Winter  Wheats  Dry  Grown 178 

XXX.  Some  Western  Flour  Wheats 179 

XXXI.  Some  Western  Feed  Wheats 183 

XXXII.  A  Colorado  Grain  Field 187 

XXXIII.  John  Gordon  and  His  Dry  Farm  Potatoes.  188 

XXXIV.  Potatoes  on  the  YU  Ranch 190 

XXXV.  Planting  Potatoes  (below) 193 

XXXV.  Harvesting  Potatoes    (above) 193 

XXXVI.  Cultivating  Potatoes    (below) 195 

XXXVI.  Ditching  Potatoes   (above) 195 

XXXVII.  A  Good  Potato  Crop 199 

XXXVIII.  A  Perfect  Shaped  Sugar  Beet 203 

XXXIX.  Boys  Thinning  Beets 213 

XL.     A  Colorado  Sugar  Factory 220 

XLI.     Wheat  Breeding  by  the  Author 229 

XLII.     Breeding  Black  Winter  Emmer 240 

XL1II.     A  Good  Use  for  Prairie-Dog  Holes 244 

XLJV.     The  Wyoming  Ground  Squirrel 285 

XLV.     Sparrow  Hawks  and  Cooper's  Hawk 295 

XLVI.     Summer  Shade  Adds  Comfort 298 

XLVII.     A  Well-Sodded  Wheat  Grass  Pasture 306 

XLVIII.     A  Beef  Cattle  Round-Up 306 

XLJX.     Lambs  in  Feeding  Pens 331 

L.      "Full-Bloods"  on  Home  Meadows 337 

LI.     Many  Cozy  Nooks  Adjoining  the  Range 376 

LIT.     Grand  Mountains  Add   Beauty 388 

LIII.     Modest  and  Neat  Ranch  Improvements £88 

LIV.     These  Sod  Houses  Are  Comfortable 392 

LV.     The  "A"  Hog  House 3"97 

LVI.     A  Full  Set  of  Buildings 402 

LVII.     Old  Cotton  woods  Lend  Shade  and  Beauty...  4~12 

LVIII.     Good   Improvements — Trees  Would  Help...  417 

LIX.     A  Good  Way  to  Leave  the  Tree  Top 418 

LX.     A  Bad  Way  to  Cut  Back  a  Tree  Top 418 

LXI.     An  Artificial  Forest 428 


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